Has anyone shipped a pony over to Canada from the UK? Any idea of the general cost??

Thanks in advance

I'll email where our daughter goes for lessons and let you know.

Amy, there have been several past threads on this subject if you search, but as a broad rule of thumb reckon on several thousand pounds as a bare minimum (east coast, small horse), to potentially over £10k (my wife was quoted this for an 18hh horse to be shipped from the UK to BC).

Reply from Krissi horse person:

"This is a question I have had trouble getting answers to, as I have been interested in bringing horses from the UK. The only info I have been able to get is sketchy, but airlines that carry livestock put them on 'palettes'. You can put three horses, each in it's own stall, on a palette, and it is around $5000. The best place to look or contact would be, I think, Lufthansa Airlines. They are the most widely used shipper of horses internationally. The pony would very likely only get to Montreal via air, and would then have to be ground shipped to NS. The pragmatic answer is that although the pony is likely VERY loved, they are much better off selling, and purchasing a new pony on arrival. Not always an option with a childs best friend though! I would contact Lufthansa-they are the best bet."

Hope that helps.

iirc, horses are better shipped via the US as this circumvents some awkward health related legislation.

I have recently had a similar thread as i have my 17hh apaloosa i wanted to bring - to be honest as much as I love him, I cannot afford between £5000 and £10000 to ship him over - its just not practical.
However if its something you want to look into - someone suggested i look into intl bloodstock movers - racehorse shippers etc - they ship regularly and may be able to do it cheaper than 'private' - however its unlikely it will be less than £5000 even if you do it this way. Thats without all the regulatory blood tests and vaccinations and i think ( if im not wrong) a weeks quarantine at the other end.

if you find a a nice cheap way to do it - lemme know

Many thanks for all the replies - I will let you know if we find a cheaper way to do it!

I recently had a quote from Pedens where the flight alone from Amsterdam to Toronto was €2500. Add transportation to Amsterdam, vet fees etc. You're still not near £5000 not even close to £10.000 so have no idea who you guys speak to.

Although Peden wanted €2500 for ground transportation from Sweden to Amsterdam. Having done such transportation in the past I quickly informed them that in no way do I believe that would be the cost. They gave me some cock and bull story. I still didn't fall for it.

Still, a combined 5000 euro still isn't 5000 pounds.

That is bad advice. Lufthansa is by no means the most widely used shipper. Also, they wouldn't be the shipper. The owner of the horse is the shipper and just about every airline doing this prefer you to use a shipping agent, such as Peden, AirHorse etc.

KLM is extremely popular for shipping horses. I think that every 747 split body I've been on has had horses in the aft cargo hold. KLM also have stables, or something they call KLM Animal Hotel, near the airport to collect horses and other animals for transport. (I firmly believe they treat their animal passengers better than the human passengers)

Some shipping agents use aircrafts that only ship horses. A lot of race horses fly back and forth between Europe and North America. There are regular flights with harness race horses from just south of Stockholm to US.

Frankfurt and Amsterdam seems to be the main center for this in central Europe. Heathrow get a few horses as well, but I believe more expensive (why else would horses in UK be shipped to Amsterdam first?). I think Stanstead or Gatwick do as well.

Skavsta, south of Stockholm seems to be the main port for Scandinavia.

Anyway - that is my two cents. I started a wiki on shipping horses a while back. I think I put some links in there to shipping agents.

Have you tried Air France ?

although there is always the danger of it appearing as an in-flight meal.....

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=528890

there are some good points to consider on here

you also need to take into account the fitness of the pony and whether they could deal with the stress of the journey. The cheapest option may not be the best for your equine. Some people are forced to leave much loved horses and ponies because they simply could not take the journey.