Importing horses from Europe

[Naira3284]

I have been thinking about importing a Black Kladruber. I am from the Czech Rep.,

and that is the breed I learned to ride on, and I just love them. They are one of the older breeds, who were the foundation for the Lipizzaner. They are a big carriage horse that excels in dressage(my passion) and come in black or white. There is only one black stallion in the US(look up Kladruber on you-tube), and a hand full of mares. I thought about getting one here but there is only one for sale in the US, and she is $20,000. So I might as well get what I want, for less.

I would most likely get a one year old so I wouldn't have to go through the CEM quarantine.

I'd love to get as much info, and experiences as possible to see if I want to go through with it.

Here is a picture of the 08 baby girl as a weanling, that I have been eyeballing

Here is her daddy, I love him

And her fat moma

 

[disneyhorse]

I don't think you can post pictures of horses you don't own...

I say if you can afford it, go for it! Most horses transport and settle in just fine. That breed is very interesting... somewhat built like Saddlebreds but very distinctive.

The transport can be stressful on a horse but so many are shipped nowadays that I don't think it's that big of a deal.

Because this horse is such an investment, are there others in your area that you could breed to or ship semen from should you decide to breed? If you are looking just for a dressage/performance horse... isn't it better to get an older/ready to start youngster so that you don't have to invest so much time into maturing and seeing how they will move once they mature? I have a couple of friends who have been devastated by investing in weanling/yearlings for dressage only to have various issues (horse did not mature into a talented mover, horse developed pysytis/ephphicytis, horse had bad temperament, etc.)

But heck, horses are not a rational obsession!

Good luck, whatever you decide!

Andrea

 

[Naira3284]

Some of the breeds used to broaden the gene pool since there is very few of them have been the Lipizzaner, Orlov Trotter, and Friesian. So they are around those lines.

There is a stud in California that has the shipped seamen available if I want to breed.

I want a younger horse because this would me my "once in a life time" horse, I want everything my way.

Plus if I get a horse over 2 years old, I would have to spend another $5000-$10000 on the CEM quarantine.

As for the horse not growing up as should, I'm not to worried. Even if it turns out not suited for dressage, I'm sure I'll find something to do with it. I love dressage, but have no desire to compete. Though if the horse grew up to be good for it, I would probably start competing. Plus I can make my money back from it with just one breeding.

I am looking for info about the import like the steps to take, numbers, $, .....

 

[Sunny]

One of our forum members, Willowood (Kim), imported a horse from Ireland a couple of years ago. I don't remember the details but it didn't seem nearly as complicated a procedure as I thought it might be. If you contact her, or if she reads this, perhaps she'll share her experience with you.

I can certainly see this breed's influence on the Lipizzaner! Good luck with your plans!

 

[Littleum]

I doubt you'll get one imported for much less $20K these days. Import costs alone are running $7-$9K for the foals. Once you factor in the cost of going over there, broker, import costs, actual purchase price... I really don't think you're going to save yourself any money.

Where are you looking to buy? Getting a horse out of western Europe/UK is pretty straightforward and done everyday (especially if it's just a baby). Getting horses out of the the eastern block can be a reaaalllll adventure (read: nightmare), so if that's the point of origin, you'll want an agent who with experience exporting horses from that region.

I'd head over to the COTH forums and pick their brains for recommendations & practical experience. You'll find plenty of folks who bring horses over from Europe all the time. Ask on the Sport Horse Breeding sub forum.