Importing

BLOOD TEST AND VETTING

When a final price has been agreed on, we schedule the blood test and the veterinary exam. If the horse is sold to a non-European country, we highly recommend having it tested for various diseases prior to its exportation. The horse will be tested for the same diseases upon arrival in the destination country. If the horse is sold to the USA, a blood draw must be made to test for the following diseases:

  • Equine Piroplasmosis (C-ELISA test, CFT test and immunofluorescence protocol)
  • Equine Infections Anaemia (Coggins test)
  • Contagious Equine Metritis (CEM test – only required for mares and stallions)

Once the blood draw has been sent to the laboratory, it takes about 5 working days to get the results. It takes 7 working days for the CEM test.

If the horse is negative for the blood tests, we will then do the vet check and x-rays. We ask owners to take videos of the flexions as well as the circles on the hard and soft ground.

We urge sellers to take x-rays of their horse before they present them to clients to make sure there are no major issues. It might happen though that some horses do not have any x-rays. In order to avoid paying for a basic set of x-rays we have decided that if the sellers cannot send us x-rays taken less than one year before the trial, we ask them to pay for 12 x-rays when the horse is vetted.



PURCHASE AGREEMENT

Every horse is sold under contract. After the vetting, if you decide to buy the horse, we will send you a purchase agreement that has already been signed by the owner. We ask you to sign it if you agree with all the terms and to send a copy to us (so that we can send it to the seller). You can then proceed to the wire transfer when the contract has been signed.

COMMISSION FEE APPLIED ON HORSE SALES

When buying a horse through a broker or an agency, it is important to remember who the agent is working for. Our work is undertaken on behalf of the buyers, the aim is to provide a quality sport horse at a fair price. We will represent the buyer throughout the negotiation process and do our best to achieve a great deal for him or her. The final price includes a maximum of 10% commission fee paid by the buyer of the horse; this is clearly defined in the purchase agreement. If you are purchasing multiple horses, you are given a discount on commission. French Horse Exports works independently: we are not tied to any barn, horse agent or rider.

INSURANCE

We strongly recommend that you to insure your horse from the moment you purchase them. If your insurance requires you to fill out a form, you can provide us with the form before the pre-purchase exam so that the vet can fill out the form.

TRANSPORTATION

The import regulations are very diverse and complex. Documentation requirements, quarantine, vaccination implications and veterinary regulations vary widely from country to country, and are subject to change. We make sure that your horse complies with all the necessary regulations and we arrange for transportation from the seller’s barn to your barn. We also take care of the paperwork for quarantine. After having compared several transport companies for hauling horses, horse care, price and customer service, we selected Equi-services (www.equiservices.fr), a licensed transporter who provides high-quality services for short and long distance transportation. We and our clients have been very satisfied with their services so far.

ARRIVAL

Horses going to the USA must stay for 3 days in quarantine on arrival where they will be tested on earlier mentioned diseases. When these test results are negative, the horses will be released from quarantine. Geldings can then travel to the final destination. Mares and stallions will be transported to a CEM-quarantine facility. Be aware the trip can be a stressful situation for the horse. They may arrive looking skinnier than you remember and tired. This is completely normal and in order to prevent the horses from losing weight we ask the seller to make sure the horse gets plenty of hay one week to two weeks before his departure.

You can look at the document "Buying a horse with FHE" to find more info about how we work at this link: here