06/02/2026
๐๐ฆ๐ฉ๐จ๐ซ๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฉ๐ฌ๐ฒ ๐๐๐ง๐ง๐๐ซ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ ๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐จ๐ฉ๐ ๐&๐
(an interview)
๐ป๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐: ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐
๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐?
It really depends on the current exchange rate, age of the horse, which CEM quarantine facility youโre using and which airport youโre flying into, but a rough estimate is around $14,000 for fillies and c**ts under the age of 2 and geldings; $18,000 for mares 2 and over, and $25,000 for stallions. This doesnโt include the cost of the horse and doesnโt include any extra fees that might be incurred, and doesn't include transport from quarantine to your home.
๐พ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐?
Itโs really easy for horses to get stuck in quarantine longer than expected. From what Iโve noted, about 10% get stuck in quarantine extra long, and entire plane loads can get stuck. It costs around $500/day for USDA quarantine and CEM is around $1000/week. I tell people to budget for an extra $10,000 per horse, and if they donโt use it, great, otherwise, theyโll have it and hopefully it is enough.
๐ฏ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐
๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐?
Yes. I had one get stuck in CEM quarantine for 9 months. It was a whole ordeal and I had to get on meetings and phone calls with USDA officials in Washington, DC. They even got the Irish government involved. That was the last horse I imported. It was very expensive.
๐พ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐โ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐
๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐
๐๐
๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐?
You can either get a loan or you can sell your horse to someone who wants to continue to pay the quarantine.
๐พ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐
๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐? ๐ซ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐?
Make sure you take out insurance before the horse leaves the farm. This does happen. Iโve known of several that have died in quarantine on either side of the ocean and one who even died on the plane from a heart attack. Horses werenโt made to fly.
๐ฐ'๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐
๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐. ๐ซ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐
๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐?
If you can get several together from the same farm on the same flight, it cuts costs by around $100-200 each horse. Not really enough to justify buying more from a farm if they donโt have more of what you want.
๐ซ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐
๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐?
No, I mean not unless you're wealthy enough that horses getting stuck in quarantine won't affect you much financially. It is extremely expensive. When things go well it can be very rewarding and exciting but when things go wrong, they go very, very wrong. Personally I prefer to take a safer bet and buy in North America, even if it doesnโt have quite the same excitement as buying overseas. At the end of the day, you know how much you're paying for the horse and you know that it is going to arrive.
๐พ๐๐๐ ๐
๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐
๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐
๐๐๐๐๐๐?
Horses in the US tend to be handled a lot more. That can be good or bad depending on whether they were handled correctly or not. Most of the horses coming from overseas as breeding stock or young stock have had minimal handling. The ones broke to ride tend to ride very differently. While in the US, we use a lot of leg and seat and have little to no mouth contact, the imported ones Iโve ridden and own all tend to want heavy mouth contact and absolutely no leg contact. Itโs really hard to train that out of them.
๐พ๐๐๐๐
๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐?
Never say never, but probably not. Theyโre not rare in North America any more and you can find anything you want here, and for less than it costs to import something most of the time.
๐พ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐
๐๐โ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐
๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐?
Iโve already talked about the expense and risk, so I guess that is the first.
The second I guess is a bit patrioticโฆsince theyโre not rare or hard to find any more, I prefer to keep my money here in America, with Americans, and support other Americans, rather than foreigners.
And the last is that most people donโt seem to realize that the vast majority of horses overseas are not eligible for registration with American registries. It used to be easy to register imported horses with GHRA, but the last few years theyโve decided to become more strict with what they will accept, similar to GVHS. So basically youโre paying a lot of money to bring over a grade horse. Unregistered gypsies arenโt worth as much as registered ones, so that sort of defeats the point in paying a premium to import something. You can buy grade gypsies here and get several of them for what it costs to import a single grade gypsy from overseas if papers don't matter to you.
๐ช๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐
๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐
๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐?
Yes! I was asking Hermitโs Cobs about blanket spotted palomino c**ts for six years and even visited their farm. Back in 2020, I finally said โIโm going to do it.โ Diane sent me these muddy pictures of a c**t --- he was just covered in mud and had extra long baby hair; you couldnโt see him at all. So I had no idea what I was buying. He came off the trailer and I couldnโt believe what I had! He was gorgeous, absolutely my dream pony in every way. And best of all, he has the best temperament also. He was the only one I imported that went perfectly smoothly, without any issues during transport or quarantine. It was a very rewarding experience.
๐ฐโ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐๐๐๐ ๐
๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐. ๐ฐ๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐
?
No, Iโve seen those pictures also and I think that was either fake or a private jet. Horses in quarantine are put in boxes, three to a box, and theyโre not allowed contact with one another, unless it is a mare and foal, which takes up two box slots, or, sometimes they will pack a bunch of weanlings from the same farm into one box together, up to five in a box. The boxes are sealed to minimize any contact between horses.
๐จ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐
๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐
๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐
๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐?
We as Americans have already imported the very best of the best and they either live or died here in North America, so the bloodlines are prevalent here and so are quality animals. Lloyds, SD Flash Harry, Bob the Blagdon, Lennyโs Horse, Lion King, SD Woolly Mammoth, SD The Don, The Boss aka The Business, Hermitโs Alfie of Brackenhill, Clononeen Mull of Kintyreโฆsome of the biggest names in the breed worldwide are or were here already. Donโt be fooled into thinking American stock is inferior than what is available overseas. They have all types and quality there; same as we do here. Theyโve sold us some of the very best, so donโt believe that we donโt have the best available here already. Horses don't lose their status or quality, or their ability to produce or sire quality, just because they've flown across an ocean.
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