New_Barns

Hi,

My work have recently offered me a role at our Sydney office. We currently live in Kent and commute to central London. We have 2 dogs and 2 horses that we wouldn't want to be without so would want to transport to Aus with us but are unsure about how easy this is. If anyone could help with the below questions that would be great -

Is there a quarantine period for horses - I think it is 30 days for dogs but confirmation would be great.
Is it a stressful experience for animals - I imagine it must be so hearing from anyone with direct experience would be great.
How easy is it to rent a place that either is happy to have dogs staying and is near a stable yard for the horses AND commutable into the CBD (I don't ask much!) or is it possible to rent a place with land that is still commutable to Sydney and doesn't cost the earth. We will probably be on a reasonable income but not millionaires, poss $5k a month rental dependant on travel costs to the office

Thanks in advance for any advice

Steve

judek9

I dont know about horses but yes its 30 days for dogs, have you looked into the cost fro taking them? I've got a quote of 5 grand to fly 2 afghan pups (9 months now) over this time next year. Quarantine costs are going up to $39 a day for first one and approx $ 32 for second including all paperwork i recon £6500 not dollars!! I'm looking to rehome mine.

aussiedreamer

Hi There

Quarantine for horses is 30 days. Best people to contact for prices are the international shippers found in the back of Horse and Hound. I had a quote 3 years ago for 8500 pounds for a 14hh not sure on the company though. Goes on size of container they are in and not weight. This did not include vaccinations, vets exams or quarantine costs.

They need to absolutely bomb proof and not scared of loud noises as in the hold it is extremely noisy, i have seen dogs go berserk and they refuse to fly them. The horses are also not insured whilst flying on a normal policy and you would need to look at alternative insurance. And as you know if a horse panics they will be sedated first (this can have a reverse affect making them worse) if all else fails they will be euthanased.

Also think about where you live now, the climate you'll be moving to and the breed and type of horse. Is it a competition horse and would there be enough competion in the area, there is a reason most of the top Australian riders live in Europe and the UK. Is this a permanent move or temporary secondment for two years etc.

I decided after much soul searching and pro's and con's lists that i would be better off putting my time and energy into finding a good home for my horse. He was a very good competition pony and the level of competition here would just not satisfy him or me. I would never have forgiven myself if he hadn't survived the journey here and he had flown before. Also after visiting on a reccie to adelaide i felt he would have struggled with the climate. I now know many ponies that have lived in Adelaide, melbourne and struggle with Queenland Temps and they were born and bred here in Australia. I have been here two years now and as yet haven't got my own horse yet as still unsure that i am in the right area for me.

I did bring my dog with me and she's great.

Sorry the reply is so long winded but i hope it helps in some way.

J

wiltshire_1

aussiedreamer has hit the nail on the head. It's not just as straight forward as sticking them on a flight. You have to way up ALL the pros and cons. I too had a lovely promising young event horse that I considered bringing out here. But having looked at all avenues i decided it would be kinder to sell her to a good competition home in the UK. I am so glad I did, for many reasons. The horse industry out here is VERY different to back home. Firstly you have to travel much greater distances to get to competitions. The heat is a massive factor - even around Sydney can get in the high 40s during summer. I have to say that in my experience, the horse industry over here is years behind the UK, which I find incredibly frustrating!!! If you are hoping to live near the CBD and find livery (or agistment as it's called here) also near the CBD, be prepared to pay a premium. Sydney agistment centres are pricey. Another thing to consider is that most horses over here live out all the time so not all agistment centres offer stabling facilities.

We did bring our dogs and they seem to have coped okay with the flight and quarantine. They do struggle in the summer heat and spend most of their time in aircon'd rooms of the house - like the rest of us! In my experience you will struggle to find a rental property that allows dogs and if they do your dog will be expected to live outside. Most Aussie's don't let their dogs live in the house!!

If you are heart set on bringing your animals (and indeed set on moving here full stop) then I would strongly recommend coming out for a recce visit before you make any decisions re animals. I wish we had as we would never have moved here in the first place .

New_Barns

Thank you very much for your replies. This pretty much confirms my worst thoughts! The trip would probably only be for around 2 years so it does make me wonder whether the upheaval would be fair on the animals. It may be forever but you never know.

Australia and Sydney are great places to live and work (I assume, only visited myself) but possibly with our lifestyle it is not practical.

We wouldn't be too concerned about competing with the horses, but would want good facilities for schooling none the less. We have a 16h2 standard bred, a 14h2 welsh cob who would probably not cope withthe heat too well, and with wonderful timing, have just bought a 16h Lusitano mare with foal. Work would theoretically pay for the transport costs although 4 horses might be pushing it so awkward decisions are ahead of us.

The dogs are a GSD and a cross Newfoundland/GSD so neither particularly good in the heat, they would be OK I would think if they had a nice bit of air con to escape to during the worst of the heat but not sure about leaving them outside all day and night

Thanks again and anymore thoughts would be really appreciated.

wiltshire_1

Not designed for the heat then. Seriously, if you are renting you will be hard pushed to find landlords that will "knowingly" allow dogs in the house - especially 2 big hairy ones.

Just another piece of advice - in our experience, living here is VERY different to holidaying here

ETA: You will probably find it easy to get livery with a school - just don't expect it to be flood lit!!

If you are only planning on staying for 2yrs, is it not an option to find someone to take on your pets in your absence??

I really can't highlight how different the horse industry is - I'm seriously disappointed and not at all surprised at most of their serious competitors upping sticks to the UK and Europe!

Good luck with whatever you decide.

NikiL

If you're only looking at a 2 year trip, you'll also need to look into the requirements for bringing dogs back into the UK (I've no idea what the rules are).

As a thought, if you wanted to keep the horses would it be worthwhile looking at a loan arrangement for while you're over in Aus?

I gather the quarantine facilities for horses are pretty topnotch in Sydney (I used to work with a vet nurse who spent some time working there and she spoke very highly of the place) but I wouldn't personally be comfortable flying horses that far twice unless I was absolutely deadset they were good flyers, and even then I'd be pretty wary.

MarkMC

We brought two Boxers over with us last September. We are renting at the moment in Sydney and it was hard to get somewhere to start with but when we decide to move securing a second property was much easier and our dogs don't live outside. Unlike the one that lives next door and barks non stop all day and night.
We used Airpets to move them and they were very good and sorted everything out for me from import permits to all the vets paperwork all i had to do was get there blood test and vaccine done. There charge for both dogs was £4200.
The flights and quarantine were very stressful for ours two. They stopped eating in quarantine and were generally very unhappy but now 9 months on they are very happy settled dogs who love there new lives and there weekends at the beach. We are on the move again in a couple of months up to the Gold Coast as we have really not settled in Sydney but this time we will be driving so no more flights for them.