ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO WELCOMING YOUR NEW COMPANION?

THE MOST EXCITING MOMENT

The arrival of the horse in your stable will undoubtedly be the best moment of the whole process.

But before that, there's a lot to do…don't worry, I'll take care of everything.

You will only have to think about preparing for his arrival.

8 horse

Step 6 - We send him to you

Step 6
We send it to you

The different types of transport

I work with reputable international horse transport companies to ensure that our horses travel in the best possible condition.

If you have decided to contract this service with me, your horse will leave on the first truck available for his destination.

Trucks go out almost weekly, so be prepared to receive your horse 1-2 weeks after the seller has received payment.

If you decide to pick him up yourself or have this service performed by another company, I will take care of the necessary authorizations to make it easier for you.

As at each step of the process, I will offer you different options.

In this case, you will have to decide if you want me to take care of the transport or if you prefer to do it yourself or pick it up personally.

You can also decide what type of transport you want for your horse;

Private transportation.

  • It is the most expensive, but also the fastest and safest.
  • You can choose the day of departure and/or the day and time of arrival.
  • It is usually done in a van or in a van hitched to a vehicle.
  • The price is usually around 1 € per kilometer, taking into account the outward and return journeys.

Combined transport by van or small truck.

  • There are independent international carriers that carry 4-6 horses per trip.
  • The advantage is that you don't have to travel a lot of kilometers because there are not many horses to deliver on the road.
  • Also, I can be in contact with them by phone during the trip and find out where they are going, and even receive photos (you'll love it).
  • The price varies depending on the date of the trip and the route that the carrier will make, taking into account the collection and drop-off of other horses.
  • The duration of the trip is usually 2 to 4 days, depending on the number of kilometers between departure and destination.
  • You will know the day of departure in advance.
  • The driver will call you before his arrival to agree with you on the delivery time.

Combined transport by large truck.

  •  It is the most economical, the most comfortable and the least stressful for the horse, because it has less vibration, but it does not only have advantages.
  • Several international transport companies connect Europe to the Iberian Peninsula every week.
  • But these transports are often booked well in advance, so it can take several weeks before the truck can pick up your horse.
  • Each truck carries between 10 and 20 horses, which means that the journey can sometimes take several days or even a week.
  • It is very difficult to communicate with them during the whole trip and of course they do not send us photos.
  • When they pass, they pick up and when they pass, they deliver. They don't take into account everyone's schedule… so they can come at any time of the day or night.
  • They will inform you of the arrival time, but in a very short time.

In any case, you can be sure that your horse will be well taken care of throughout the trip, as it will be looked after by people who have extensive experience in international animal transport.

 
All of our partner carriers will prioritize the welfare of the animals in their care on an agreed day or time of delivery.
 
What I mean by that is if they have to take more breaks than expected, because an animal is nervous or tired, because it's too hot or stormy, because there's too much traffic, etc… they will. If any of these unforeseen events occur, I will notify you of the delay and let you know how your horse is doing.
Here things change, because the period is much longer.
 
Air transport.
 
  • If you are on another continent, your horse will travel part of the way by road to the quarantine center, where he will undergo various medical tests and spend a few days under surveillance. The duration of this stay will depend on the regulations in force in your country.
  • At the end of the quarantine, he will take the road to the departure airport. There he will fly to the destination airport and drive again by road to your stable.
  • The management of this transport will be entrusted to a specialized agency which will ensure compliance with the regulations, prepare all the necessary documents for export and keep us informed of the situation of the horse at each new stage.

The transport permit

No horse in Europe can leave his country without a TRACES license (Trade Control and Expert System) issued by the competent authorities of that country.

This is a European database, where the international movements of all horses must be registered.

Since they changed the TRACES application system in October 2021, this step has become a headache for everyone…

And as if that were not enough, in Spain, depending on the Community in which you request it, you will have more or less problems, and it can take up to 1 week to get it, so it is a very important point to be taken into account before reserving the transport of the horse.

This permit must be applied for electronically or in person (at the regional office of the seller) and the seller, buyer and carrier must be registered in the system.

 Are you already registered ?

If so, great. Send me the contact details you registered with so I can find you when I apply.

 You are not registered yet ?

So go ahead and do it now because you are going to need it. It's free and quite fast if you find the right person.

If you are in France, make your request by contacting the official DDPP veterinarian.

If you are in another country, ask your veterinarian who can tell you who to contact.

Fortunately, I am an operator at TRACES, so I can speed up the process and prepare everything so that the office operator only has to validate it.

Once the request has been made and less than 48 hours before the trip, an official veterinarian from the regional office will check that the horse is in perfect condition and can travel without problems.

If everything is in order, the transport permit will be issued and the horse will be allowed to travel.

 WARNING ! Transporting the horse without this document means a heavy fine for the seller and the buyer during a police check.

You must therefore take this into account, even if you are the one picking up the horse with private transport.

When the transporter you hired delivers the horse to you, he must also give you the horse's papers and the TRACES transport document.

Export formalities outside the EU

If your horse has to leave the European Union, you will have to export it, passing through the Spanish customs services on his departure and through those of your country on his arrival.

It is very important to prepare everything in advance because sometimes there are surprises such as the horse which is not in the name of the exporter, incomplete invoices, exporter without ORI number, etc…

Correcting these errors takes time and if detected at the time of customs clearance, the trip will have to be delayed or even cancelled, resulting in significant and unnecessary expense if it would have been foreseen.

As Switzerland is not an active member of the EU, any horse imported from Spain or Portugal must be cleared through customs.

This means that the buyer will have to pay taxes in Switzerland in addition to the costs of Spanish customs formalities.

The amount to be paid varies according to the purchase price of the horse, but will probably not be less than €500.

In order to carry out these formalities, it is essential that the exporter has an ORI number. If it is the first time that he exports, he will not have it and will have to make a request to the administration.

If I take care of the export, the horse will enter through FERNEY-VOLTAIRE customs.

Calculating the exact price of transport and import-export formalities for a horse who is going to USA, CANADA, or any other non-European country, is not easy because many elements must be taken into account.
 
In the case of the USA and CANADA, the price varies according to…
 
  • How many horses travel in the container. The maximum being 3, if you only have one, the agency will wait until you have 2 more at the same destination airport to reduce costs.
  •  If it is a stallion horse, a mare or a gelding. Breeding animals, such as stallions and mares, require more testing and longer quarantines, and therefore it is more expensive to export a gelding. However, there has been an agreement with the PRE breed for years, which makes it cheaper to import a PRE stallion than a stallion horse of another breed.
  • Age. If he is less than 24 months old, is cheaper than if he is more than two years old, which is considered an adult for export.
  • The distance between the stable and the quarantine centre.
  • The price of the flight, which represents about 2/3 of the total you will have to pay and which varies according to the airline and the dates.

I will give you an exact price when I know all these variants, but you should expect a minimum of €8.000 in expenses.

 

The day of departure

That day I will send you a video (or photos) of the horse getting into the truck so you can check that he is ridden in the truck in perfect condition.

The horse will travel with a headcollar, a lead rope, his papers and his transport document. All this will be given to you upon his arrival.

The transport company has liability insurance.

This means that, if they are responsible for something that happens to your horse, he will be covered by their insurance.

Anything that happens to the horse during the trip, and in which it is not directly involved, is not covered.

That is why I recommend that you insure your horse as soon as you sign the purchase contract and to ensure that he is covered at least until he arrives in your stable.

If you want your horse to travel with protections, let me know. I can take care of that too.

The day of arrival

 The big day is finally here !

Some horses are very sensitive and sometimes it takes several days or even weeks or months for them to feel safe and at home.

To help them adapt as quickly as possible, follow these tips:

The trip was long. The horse will arrive tired and may be quite stressed if he is not used to travelling.

Some horses show it by becoming restless, temperamental, nervous or even aggressive.

Do not worry about these reactions, in 2 or 3 days you will see significant changes.

Make sure the horse does not have a fever when he arrives and is decaying normally. If not, contact a veterinarian.

Set up a routine as similar as possible to the one he had with his previous owner and introduce changes in his habits very gradually, even if you think these changes are for the best!

  • If the horse was living in a box, leave it in a box for now, because that's where he will feel most secure.
  • If you can, put him in a box where he only has one horse on one side and not one on each side.
  • If he is a stallion, avoid putting him near a stall where there is a mare.
  • If the horse lived in a paddock with other horses, put him in a nearby paddock, let him see them, but don't let him free with new horses.
  • After a few hours in the box, you can take him out and give him a tour of his new facilities so that he can begin to familiarise himself with his surroundings. Use this time to brush him, clean his hooves, etc.
  • If he tries to pass you when you take him out of the box, back him off.
  • Talk to him a lot and in a friendly tone, but remember that you are in charge. If he does something inappropriate, use the word NO and a firm (but not aggressive) tone of voice.
  • Don't start working him out until he's had at least 8 hours of rest.

You'll be eager to ride…but you should follow these few tips to ensure you both have a good experience.

  • Don't ride him the first day, but do some lunging work with him when he's rested from the trip (you know, at least 8 hours). Slow lunging on the first day will help you get to know each other. If he is still a little tired, move him only at a walk.
  • Use voice and sounds to communicate with him. In Spain we use “the frog” (mouth noise) to make him move forward and the short whistle to ask him to stop. Try it when you ride it to see if your horse recognizes it, if so you can use it later when you get ridden on the horse.
  • Don't let the horse rest longer than that, even if you read on the internet that the horse should be rested for a week before riding. Remember that he will probably have been out of work for more than 5 days. The sooner he returns to work, the easier it will be for you, especially if the horse is a stallion and used to regular work. Remember to avoid changing your habits as little as possible.
  • Walk the horse before riding, at least for the first few days. “Pitch, trot and canter” are the words he will recognize to modify his gait if he already knows how to work on the lunge.
  • If you don't have much experience, ask a professional to ride the horse before you for the first time.
  • Put on your helmet, even if the horse seems very calm.
  • Equip yourself with spurs and a riding crop if you know how to use them. If you are not very good with them, don't use them yet.
  • Ride him in the arena / paddock or, if you don't have one, choose a place with boundaries, not an open field. There will be time to take him for a ride when you know each other better.
  • The first few days you go up, take a lot of steps and a lot of gait transitions. It's not about doing a training session, but about getting to know each other.
  • Do not do sessions longer than one hour at the beginning.
  • Do not go outside with him until you know him perfectly in the arena.
  • Don’t go out for a walk alone. The first few times you should go with another horse who already knows the stallion and is not afraid of anything. When you get to know his reactions to the unknown and unexpected events, and see that you can handle him, you can date him alone.
  • If you have any difficulties when you start riding your new horse, seek professional help. It is important to solve even the smallest problem as soon as possible to prevent it from getting worse. If you don't have anyone around you who can help you, or if you can't solve the problem, ask someone to record you two in a video and send it to me, explaining what your difficulty is.

Most horses lose weight during travel. It is estimated that they can lose up to 0,55% of their body weight per hour of transport.

And studies show that horses traveling for more than 12 hours lose up to 5% of their body weight.

This is because they eat less food during the trip (they only eat hay) and lose more body fluids, becoming dehydrated as they urinate, excrete and sweat more due to the stress of being in a moving box.

But don't worry, because it will be restored in less than a week.

I always ask the seller to include a small bag of food from the one he is taking so that you can mix it with the one he is going to take home and make the change of diet easier.

  • Gradually mix the food. You can start with a 3:1 ratio, adding a little more of your own product and a little less of the small bag each day.
  • If the horse was not receiving dry feed, you will not receive this bag. To introduce food into his diet, do it little by little, starting with 1/2 liter and supplementing his diet with hay.
  • If you plan to keep it in a meadow with grass, remember that you will also have to adapt him gradually. You will need to limit the time he will be in the paddock and gradually add time until you can leave him in the paddock all day, especially if the horse arrives in the spring.
  • If your horse has to stay in the paddock, deworm him again after 2-3 weeks.
  • You can give him treats (fruit, horse biscuits, a bit of bread…) but don't overdo it. Do NOT give sugar.
  • If your horse begins to bite, immediately stop feeding him with your hand and correct him when he does. It is an unpleasant and dangerous habit that can turn into a vice. You can easily avoid this by leaving treats in the feeder.

Do not wait any longer and make an appointment with me.

I want to discuss my project with you