# shipping horses to Australia? Any ideas on costs?



## Jericho (13 May 2009)

Hi, bit of a random post. I have some Australian relatives who are looking to start a breeding programme on gypsy cobs which are apparently very rare over there and much sought after. My rellies have been over this month and we went to see some nice cobs to get an idea of costs etc and the breeder has only ever shipped to America and Europe so couldnt really give an idea of what cost it would be.

My rellies reckon that it is going to cost about £3k and undoubtedly they will do their own research when they get home now that they have found a definite supplier this end but I was wondering (to give them some further help from this end) does anyone have any experience of this? the plan is to buy a colt and a mare and have the mare put in foal by the stallion at stud here and then ship both out.


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## Taffster (13 May 2009)

A friend of mine imported a horse from Australia it was £8000 this was 2 years ago, doubt you'll get it for £3000


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## hellspells (13 May 2009)

One of my friends got a quote last month for a 14hand New Forest - 8k - so no 3grand isn't going to do it I'm affraid


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## Silverspring (13 May 2009)

[ QUOTE ]
A friend of mine imported a horse from Australia it was £8000 this was 2 years ago 

[/ QUOTE ]

Holy sh!t that's a lot of money to ship a horse in, I was thinking £3k was alot to ask!  Do they fly the horses?  I assume it's not £8k but ship and take about 8 weeks?


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## hellspells (13 May 2009)

Yep they get shipped on a plane


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## faerie666 (13 May 2009)

A yard I worked at sent horses to run in the Melbourne Cup a few times, I think including the quarantine livery at the National Stud ( for 1 month before the horses were flown out) it worked out at about £10k. That was about 8 years ago, so I doubt you'll get it much cheaper now.


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## Taffster (13 May 2009)

Yes he flew in he was only 3 unbroken and was only shown a video - he came out in the hack clases this year and qualified for rihs at his first show! So i guess he was worth it still i'd expect nothing else at that cost!


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## jrp204 (13 May 2009)

Embryo transfer? not that i actually know anything about it apart from OH has been talking about using it in his sheep!


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## Jericho (13 May 2009)

hmmm thats interesting, thanks for the replies! Apparently they think it will be worth it as some gypsy cobs are being sold for $30-40,000 Aus Dollars !!


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## seche (13 May 2009)

My horse came back from NZ in 2005 for £5,500 but I got a cheap deal as he came over with my boss' polo ponies. 
IRT (International Racehorse Transport) were brilliant - give them a ring for a guestimate.


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## Linz75 (13 May 2009)

Hi,

No idea how much it would cost for horse transport to Oz, but the quote I have for my Jack Russell to come back from Hong Kong is £2,000!! I would be very surprised if you could get a horse to Oz for just a thousand pounds more....


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## foraday (13 May 2009)

Pre export quarantine and tests 4 weeks in UK then fly to Oz

Post export 3 weeks quarantine and repeat of tests

Government state tax also to be paid-this is on how much the horse costs

You are looking at £8-10k depending upon whether mare, stallion or gelding

IRT and BBA fly every 6 weeks


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## StaceyTanglewood (13 May 2009)

thanks for posting this a livery of mine is looking to move to australia with BF but wont leave her horse !! will contact the above xx


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## somethingorother (13 May 2009)

would they be able to acclimatise ok? From reading Doggerous (?)'s post i wouldn't expect so. When i went to spain i met some people who has brought their horses over and some of them didn't do well even there.

I'm genuinely interested, not having a dig at anyone, so feel free to put me right! 

I'm shocked at how expensive it is, but i suppose if you think about it, it makes sense.


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## Tinypony (13 May 2009)

I have been to Aus several times and spent a lot of time around horses there.  You are right, you don't see a lot of gypsy cobs.   
	
	
		
		
	


	




  Do you think there might be a reason for that though?  Are they the right sort of horse to take out to that heat?  They seem quite fond of clydesdales and friesians, normally crosses, but I can't remember seeing anything like coloured cobs, haflingers, highlands and that sort.


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## StaceyTanglewood (13 May 2009)

[ QUOTE ]
Pre export quarantine and tests 4 weeks in UK then fly to Oz

Post export 3 weeks quarantine and repeat of tests

Government state tax also to be paid-this is on how much the horse costs

You are looking at £8-10k depending upon whether mare, stallion or gelding

IRT and BBA fly every 6 weeks 

[/ QUOTE ]

who are BBA ???


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## wench (13 May 2009)

If they are only young they would prob aclimatise better than older animals?


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## Fahrenheit (13 May 2009)

My sister paid 10k for her horse to go


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## Jericho (13 May 2009)

I asked them the same question and they felt they were good matches as they generally have excellent hard feet and are very good doers so can cope with the sparse grass. My relatives are based in the south of Oz where the temps are less extreme but do reach 40 degrees. The main things that they anticipate to have problems with are mites and sunburn so not much different to here. My cousin mentioned also that there are a lot of clydesdales out there - if they can cope then hopefully a cob would be OK


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## Laafet (13 May 2009)

British Bloodstock Agency one of the biggest shippers of TB's. I would say about 10k as this is what my friend pays to get horses from Argentina and that includes all the vet and quarantine costs, which are tight for Oz now since they had Equine Flu.


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## Chavhorse (14 May 2009)

I have just been quoted 3.5K to take Vardi to Cyprus when we move back not including the import tax which can vary depending on who is on duty on the day but in the region of 300 - 500 euros.

This is an eight day trip by road and sea so I am assuming that OZ by plane will be a fair bit more.


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## kira (15 May 2009)

Hi, I shipped 3 mares to New Zealand via Australia 3 years ago.  The cost was 7,500 pounds each, plus I also had to get swabs and blood tests from them beforehand.  
Don't forget they will also need to pay import duty if they are bringing them in for business reasons - I had to write a letter saying mine were pets to avoid paying 12.5% GST to Customs.  
Mine were also insured for their full replacement value plus the costs of shipping for the first 12 mths they were in NZ.  
If you ship them from winter to summer (like me - I moved in January)  they will be fully clipped out to help them acclimatise.  
The quarantine facility in Sydney was top notch and they were stabled under fans and hosed.  My horses were immaculately looked after (one of them was only 9 months old at the time) and I would not hesitate recommending people to ship horses.  They have settled very well in the different climate etc and 2 of them I have bred foals from since arriving here.
I used IRT, who are extremely helpful and professional and will look after everything.  As I said, I would have no hesitation doing it again should I decide to ship horses in from Europe.  
Gypsy Vanners though - hmmm, I think maybe passing fad and certainly not as popular here as they are in the States.  Certainly in NZ people are having trouble selling them now - a nicely bred warmblood is a completely different story!


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