Melbourne

Hi There

I wonder if any of you are bringing a horse box to Australia with you - or are trying to decided whether or not to do so.

I have a two year old Ifor Williams double box - and from what I can see on the web they are quite a bit more expensive in Australia.

However, someone has said that there might be problems with bringing in such an item (I guess it would be in our container) due to things such as foot and mouth etc.

Have any of you out there done any research on this ?

Pollyana

Its not often these days that BE gets a totally original question, but I'm 99% sure that you are the first with this one

I don't know the definitive answer, though I suspect you may have to email AQIS. I would imagine concerns would be not just foot-and-mouth, but equine influenza as well.

Melbourne

Hi Pollyanna

Thanks for that - I've emailed them today - will post details of reply so we'll all know !!

kathmand194

I love the thought!!!

stuckinblighty

Thats exactly what i was thinking

Melbourne

Well - the answer is that you can bring them - they need an import permit and have to be steam cleaned.

They are inspected on arrival by a quarantine officer.

Now for the next stage - I need to see it can go in the container with my household items or would it need a separate container.

Choice

By the way, they are called horse floats over here and they really hold their value. Check out horsedeals.com.au to get an idea of re-sale values.

Melbourne

Hi Choice

Thanks a million for getting back to me - I'll check that out today and update this thread.

hoofie2002

Also check whether it would need any work done on it to be road-legal here. The lights etc may/may not be acceptable. In WA trailers are licensed, you should find out the situation in whatever state you are moving to.

One point, if you trash one of the wheels/bearings, would you be able to get a replacement here ? Small point but worth considering. If may be worth even getting a couple of spare wheel hubs and bearings etc to take with it.

Wendy&Mike

FYI, we bought a double float brand new for $9000 about 4 years ago. It is a Otto Tuza standard float but we had a 300mm extension and extra padding.

I am surprised that it is cheaper to ship one from England than sell it and buy a new one here.

I'm pretty sure the electrics would need changing but probably only a new plug. The emergency wire that pulls the brake on isn't allowed here, you have to replace it with a big chain that makes sure car and float never part company. Most floats here have electric brakes but the old slider type are still around.

HTH.

Mike.
Edit, looking at the link I posted, we got it fully padded for that price.

Melbourne

Parts what an excellent point !!!!!

Have spent the last hour on the horse deals website - and haven't seen ONE like mine.

But have sussed out some nice horses and some lovely places to live !!!!!!!!!

I noticed that several of the ad's note that the boxes (sorry - floats) are "licenced to ......." do they have to have an MOT every so often ?

The other thing that I was thinking about is ..... are your floats made from a lighter material than ours - so that they don't retain the heat to the same extent ??

I'm going to live in Melbourne and hope to be not too far from the Eq. Centre in Weribee.

Do you two have horses ? I would love to bring one of mine with me - but she's fourteen now and the quote that I got to ship her was Euro 11,000.00 so I just don't think it would be worth it - but boy am I gonna miss her.

Mike - just seen your post as I went to submit mine - I think all things considered (including the hassle of getting the thing steam cleaned and the worry of it NOT passing quarantine) I'd be better off with a new one when we (finally) get there !!

Thanks to you all for replying to this thread.

Choice

if you buy a second hand float over here, if it is licenced (the equivalent of road tax) I think it also has to have a roadworthy certificate with it. However, if it isn't licenced, you would need to get the roadworthy certificate before you could get the rego. Vehicles / trailers over here only need to be checked for roadworthiness when they change hands. Floats certainly need rego in Victoria which is where we are. Floats do get hot here especially with horses in them, but not sure if they are made of any special material. Did you like the ones in horse deals with sun shades fitted in them !!! Lucky you moving by the Werribee equestrian centre - Their 2 day event was cancelled last year due to EI and my daughter was devastated ! Hoping to go this year. anyway good luck x

Melbourne

Hi Choice

Thanks for getting back to me again.

Where did you emigrate from ?

Do they have riding clubs over there ?

I'm in Ireland and compete with a riding club, dressage ireland and also do showjumping - not at any fantastic level - but am passionate about it.

We have five horses over here - none of which we're going to bring - although it's breaking my heart having to leave one in particular.

I really appreciate all the advice I've been given on this thread.

Choice

Hi,

We emigrated from the West Midlands in the UK about 2.5 years ago. Horse culture is certainly different over here. You will regularly see adults riding 2 or 3 year old horses which would have been a huge no no where I came from. Getting enough grass can be a problem depending on how badly affected by the drought your area is, and hay can be very expensive due to the drought as well. A lot of horses are rugged all year round, in the summer mainly to keep flies and the heat off them. Our pony lives out all year. Mud never seems to be a problem here, just dust ! Spring and Autumn are fantastic for riding. In deepest winter it doesn't get pitch black until 5.30 so my daughter can still ride after school. Summer, you have to ride early to try to beat the heat, but horses at our agistment are quite happy to work in 30 degrees - any hotter and it is not too pleasant though. The problem in the summer is the flies. When you get here - go to Aussie Disposals and buy a net that completely encompasses your own hat and head ! It's the only way to keep sane and to not accidentally eat the flies - I only ate 2 this year, so not too bad really !

I'm certainly no expert as regards clubs, but I know there is the standard pony club in Aus, which has different divisions in every state. The adults at my daughters agistment (agistment is livery) go to "Adult Riders" once a month which I think is a grown up version of pony club. Another place for a browse might be EFAvic.com.au or hrcav.com.au, or ponyclubvic.org.au. The pony club website has a calendar which shows lots of events that are on.

Anyway, all you can do is find the best homes for your horses and move on with your new life. Good luck and enjoy !