Transporting horses to Canada
Apr 27th 2016, 7:53 pm
#16
Just Joined
Thread Starter
Joined: Apr 2016
Location: Nr. Oswestry, Shropshire. UK.
Posts: 7
Re: Transporting horses to Canada
Thought I'd butt in on this one...
You say you want to bring your horses...are they an unusual breed? or just well loved?
I'm in Alberta and it is Horse country!!
Western and English is popular here, although Rodeo is the winner! Cowboys & girls everywhere!!
If you have a larger breed (ie: Shire or Vanner) then it would be worth looking into more...otherwise, sadly, horses here are a commodity...and due to recent low rain fall and poor harvest, feed is an issue Again this year for ALL the farming community.
Horses and cow's being sent to auction due to feed cost being sky-high and out of reach for some.
And yes, the 'meat man' does buy in large amounts..
$300-500 or less sometimes, per animal, at auction is not unusual...
If you have a highly trained-out of the ordinary horse (dressage, competition jumper or olympic potential) there is a market for stud/brood mare.
I'm told area's of BC are 'horsey' but I'd suggest reading as much as your brain can take!
We moved from Devon approx 2 yrs ago...we now have our own home with 10 acres...and are starting to fence our pasture for animals/maybe 2 horses... it is still something we could never have afforded in the UK.
We made the move for the long term goal of family life, childrens education, cost of living etc...what we didn't sell, we brought with us.
So if not having your horses with you is the barrier...
Research the hell out of the cost involved in moving them...
boarding them until you are settled, have a job, shipped your belongings and so on...
what do you want in life?
If Canada can help you build a life/future, there is ALOT here both in summer & winter.
We don't regret our move but we are in Northern Alberta.
The Rockies are a 3hr drive away!!
You say you want to bring your horses...are they an unusual breed? or just well loved?
I'm in Alberta and it is Horse country!!
Western and English is popular here, although Rodeo is the winner! Cowboys & girls everywhere!!
If you have a larger breed (ie: Shire or Vanner) then it would be worth looking into more...otherwise, sadly, horses here are a commodity...and due to recent low rain fall and poor harvest, feed is an issue Again this year for ALL the farming community.
Horses and cow's being sent to auction due to feed cost being sky-high and out of reach for some.
And yes, the 'meat man' does buy in large amounts..
$300-500 or less sometimes, per animal, at auction is not unusual...
If you have a highly trained-out of the ordinary horse (dressage, competition jumper or olympic potential) there is a market for stud/brood mare.
I'm told area's of BC are 'horsey' but I'd suggest reading as much as your brain can take!
We moved from Devon approx 2 yrs ago...we now have our own home with 10 acres...and are starting to fence our pasture for animals/maybe 2 horses... it is still something we could never have afforded in the UK.
We made the move for the long term goal of family life, childrens education, cost of living etc...what we didn't sell, we brought with us.
So if not having your horses with you is the barrier...
Research the hell out of the cost involved in moving them...
boarding them until you are settled, have a job, shipped your belongings and so on...
what do you want in life?
If Canada can help you build a life/future, there is ALOT here both in summer & winter.
We don't regret our move but we are in Northern Alberta.
The Rockies are a 3hr drive away!!
thanks for the feedback, it's definitely a case of i love her too much and have worked to hard with her to leave her behind, as well as promising the friend I bought her from that she would have a 'forever home'. I realise it will be (very) pricey but it's something I'm keen to do in the same way I would take a dog with me if I had one. At the moment it may only be my mare that I bring as my old boy will be just too old for the journey by the time it happens (if it does happen). I am going to research the heck out of everything I possibly can before we think about it as a more serious option. We want the outdoor lifestyle that comes with better summers and snowy winters. Fed up of british 'summer time'!!
Do you find it a lot cheaper than the UK? We would be moving from the Powys/Shropshire border which is already cheaper than Devon I think. How long did the whole process take for you? Thanks 😊
Apr 27th 2016, 9:09 pm
#17
Forum Regular
Joined: Dec 2008
Location: Up North
Posts: 37
Re: Transporting horses to Canada
We were lucky...had decided on Canada after looking at Auz/Nz and Germany!
Did some homework on the area's we'd prefer...applied like crazy for jobs.
2-ish years of research & job hunting...then Hubby was flown out for an interview, in the September, offered the job and started the paperwork. In November the company got a negative response on employing a non-canadian.
They applied again...we got an email in January 2014 with a Yes-you can come to Canada.
Took a week to sink in...started packing, selling off cars etc, got our paperwork in order , cleared everything with the Tax office, bank, council etc.
Landed in April 2014...
We were very lucky, on the whole we've had a good experience, even packing a container to ship our lives went ok, not smooth, but ok...
The cost of living here in our part of Alberta is...well weird!
The cost of oil dropped recently, so we were paying .66c a ltre for fuel (approx 32 pence!!!) at the time, this last week its gone up to .83c and boy are the locals moaning...we have well water so just yearly check up on the pump (so FREE) but I boil all my water before use cos' it is fairly high in tanine.
Car insurance is not as cheap as the UK, no easy comparison sites.
We bought old used cars...$5000 approx each.
You buy a new plate for the car and have to re-new the registration yearly-$85 approx (40-ish quid!!)...most people seem to then run the car to death...no MOT here.
As we are north, food is trucked in, so a bit more expensive than the bigger cities..but when I bother to compare & covert to pounds, most food prices are similar.
Processed USA imported food is cheap (& nasty)...think plastic cheese in a squeezy tube.
I find there is a LOT of home cooking in this area...if you are invited anywhere they say 'pot luck'...which means bring a plate of something to share.
House prices in the cities are higher, similar to the UK...the closer to the metropolis the higher the price.
We are 25mins drive from 'a city'...and paid at the time of conversion 140,000 GBP for 3 beds with 10 acres...which we are still stunned at.
One down side we have had in the last few weeks...Dentist! Eldest daughter needs work & braces...$8000. If she has to see an Oral surgeon...possibly another $2-3000.
And eye care...no Specsavers...but CostCo has been pretty fairly priced.
finding a GP hasn't been easy (but that's the same as the UK!)
I would say it has been over-all a lot cheaper for everyday living as our monthly out lay is less...this far north & out of town, our biggest expense is for Electric...approx $130 a month...but that still half of what I used to pay.
Alberta GST (same as VAT) is 5%
we pay federal tax (10% i think?) and seperate provincial tax (16%-ish i think)...and each province is different.
You also have to do a yearly tax return, we use an accountant, as we haven't got to grasp yet with all the deductions and allowances they have here.
Don't regret taking the leap...kid's are doing x10 better in school...eldest daughter is now an honors student!
Winter here is interesting...the youngest was upset that we didn't get the 'right snow'...to powdery to build a snowman or Igloo..!
And am told this winter was mild...-27 with 4-5ft drifts...not so bad.
Previous year -37, add the wind chill...-45ish Hurts!!
Outdoor life here is 'Awesome'...sorry my pet peeve.
Every other word at school is punctuated with Awesome...or Like...:"(
Did some homework on the area's we'd prefer...applied like crazy for jobs.
2-ish years of research & job hunting...then Hubby was flown out for an interview, in the September, offered the job and started the paperwork. In November the company got a negative response on employing a non-canadian.
They applied again...we got an email in January 2014 with a Yes-you can come to Canada.
Took a week to sink in...started packing, selling off cars etc, got our paperwork in order , cleared everything with the Tax office, bank, council etc.
Landed in April 2014...
We were very lucky, on the whole we've had a good experience, even packing a container to ship our lives went ok, not smooth, but ok...
The cost of living here in our part of Alberta is...well weird!
The cost of oil dropped recently, so we were paying .66c a ltre for fuel (approx 32 pence!!!) at the time, this last week its gone up to .83c and boy are the locals moaning...we have well water so just yearly check up on the pump (so FREE) but I boil all my water before use cos' it is fairly high in tanine.
Car insurance is not as cheap as the UK, no easy comparison sites.
We bought old used cars...$5000 approx each.
You buy a new plate for the car and have to re-new the registration yearly-$85 approx (40-ish quid!!)...most people seem to then run the car to death...no MOT here.
As we are north, food is trucked in, so a bit more expensive than the bigger cities..but when I bother to compare & covert to pounds, most food prices are similar.
Processed USA imported food is cheap (& nasty)...think plastic cheese in a squeezy tube.
I find there is a LOT of home cooking in this area...if you are invited anywhere they say 'pot luck'...which means bring a plate of something to share.
House prices in the cities are higher, similar to the UK...the closer to the metropolis the higher the price.
We are 25mins drive from 'a city'...and paid at the time of conversion 140,000 GBP for 3 beds with 10 acres...which we are still stunned at.
One down side we have had in the last few weeks...Dentist! Eldest daughter needs work & braces...$8000. If she has to see an Oral surgeon...possibly another $2-3000.
And eye care...no Specsavers...but CostCo has been pretty fairly priced.
finding a GP hasn't been easy (but that's the same as the UK!)
I would say it has been over-all a lot cheaper for everyday living as our monthly out lay is less...this far north & out of town, our biggest expense is for Electric...approx $130 a month...but that still half of what I used to pay.
Alberta GST (same as VAT) is 5%
we pay federal tax (10% i think?) and seperate provincial tax (16%-ish i think)...and each province is different.
You also have to do a yearly tax return, we use an accountant, as we haven't got to grasp yet with all the deductions and allowances they have here.
Don't regret taking the leap...kid's are doing x10 better in school...eldest daughter is now an honors student!
Winter here is interesting...the youngest was upset that we didn't get the 'right snow'...to powdery to build a snowman or Igloo..!
And am told this winter was mild...-27 with 4-5ft drifts...not so bad.
Previous year -37, add the wind chill...-45ish Hurts!!
Outdoor life here is 'Awesome'...sorry my pet peeve.
Every other word at school is punctuated with Awesome...or Like...:"(
