One of the biggest concerns to horse owners when travelling abroad is the safety and welfare of their horses. Moving abroad is often as they say ‘lock stock and barrel’. A unique situation whereby everything has to go at once.
When you are trying to move furniture, belongings, pets and everything else, it is often preferable to delegate the transportation of your horses to a professional transport company. Sometimes due to logistics it is easier to stable the horses with the transporter and allow them to make the arrangements and journey the horse, leaving you free to handle all the other projects. This however presents additional forms of stress, as confidence that the horses will have a good journey and arrive with minimum trauma, is a constant worry through out your own moving procces.
One of the first things to do is ensure that your horse has all the relevant paperwork needed to cross the channel to France.
Bringing horses to France
Horses may move across EU borders providing they have a valid Horse Passport. This is fairly straightforward for ponies and horses moving to France if the animal has a passport issued by an organisation approved under the EU legislation (in the UK or elsewhere in the EU).
Before departure, certain documents must be in order: a valid passport, an export licence, and a health certificate. The ferry company will need to see these documents at embarkation. In the case of smaller ponies, an owner may be required to prove that they are worth more than a certain value, due to the ban on live exports for meat.
According to EU legislation, all foals born after 1 July 2008 must be microchipped for identification purposes before they are 6 months old. This requirement does not apply to horses born before this date.
Most professional horse Transport companies can apply quickly and easily for Export papers. They will ask for your horses details and make the application themselves. The cost of this is normally included into the cost they quote to you.
Placing your equine in the hands of a professional should make you rest easy. However please do not take advertisements and promotional web sites at face value. Many companies are very reputable but unfortunately there are some rogue traders out there that spoil it for the good guys.
Please do not be charmed. Questions and request for proof will be no problem for reputable companies. Strict regulations are still applicable when working on the continent. Contact Defra and any organisations that a company claims affiliation to www.defra.gov.uk
Ask other professionals in the trade their advice. Follow up testimonials
Peace of mind – it’s worth making the effort.
Ensure your horse has a positive journey too!
