Hi, my wife and I will be moving to the Basel area early next year. We would like to bring our horse so any recommendations or advice on the process would be greatly appreciated as well as sharing your experice... I will be moving first and try to find a reasonable stable in the Basel land area, but I did some reasearch that keeping the horse in France or Germany is much cheaper.
I would have though that if you can even consider moving horse, approx weight....500kg ??, to Switzerland by air you must either be very wealthy or be comming to a top job with a corresponding salary.
Does the cost of stabling really matter ? Think about all the time wasted having to go to France or Germany to see the animal as i guess you will need to live in Switzerland if you are American.
I am not wealthy that is for sure, just trying to figure out all the expenses so that I can make the right decision, horse and pets are part of the family.... Thanks!
You really need to get in touch with some airlines and ask them directly. Also get advice from a vet - as a long flight can be very stressful. I did a bit of Googling and some gave an indication of about 10000 Euros. Another comment was about the right of the airline to destroy the horse if it gets stressed to the point of being dangerous. If you are unsure about the length of your stay here - it might be better to find another solution until you are sure you are in CH/Europe for the long haul. Good luck - hope you find a way.
If you can afford to fly horses around the world, you're certainly not poor !
I flew 2 deer once to Philippines for my boss at the time, about 25 years ago now with Lufthansa, cost over USD 30k
They both died within 6 months from the heat.
A horse....i wsould guess between €10-12k, depending on how cheap you want to go.
Maybe best to leave the horse in place and see whethr you liek Switzelrand to start with as it's VERY different to the US, as many people will only be too happy to testify here, and maybe the horse would prefer it as here everything is small scale compared to you
For the sake of the horse, I would leave him there and use the time you have left to find a suitable buyer. Have you thought about the stress it will cause to this poor animal? mostly if it's to leave him in france or germany because it's cheaper! we all worry about travelling for a long journey with our cats or dogs, so for a horse... if you consider him as part of the family so please, try to be reasonable and take the right decision for him, not for you.
I moved my horse over using Mersant equine shippers....highly professional & advice & care they gave was excellent. Cost around 11K all in & most of the cost was ground transport from Holland. Call them early & they try to pair you up with another horse ( air & ground) to save $$$$. Horse was well traveled before move so handled it well. Finding a suitable barn will be the challenge. I am nowhere near Basel so cannot recommend any. PM me if you have any more specific questions/ concerns.
I really hope the OP won't bring his horse over and instead come to switzerland free to enjoy it as much as they can, travelling a lot and making the most of it withouth having to think about going to check and ride their horse. Now if they really miss horse riding, maybe they can spend the money they would have spent for the transport in joining a horse club?
Given that you will have a difficult if not impossible time finding a home with your three dogs, given your concerns over bringing your horse - do you really think Switzerland is the right place for your family?
It sounds like you have a very animal-oriented lifestyle, are perhaps used to having space, living the rural life. That lifestyle is very difficult, and certainly expensive, to replicate in Switzerland. Even 'auf dem Land' one lives in suburbia. One may live next to a farm, but city behavior and city attitudes prevail.
As per Lola's post above - I see what she is saying. We never travel for fun, heck I rarely leave the house. (To give you an idea: it costs me ca. CHF 200 every time I step out my door, because I must always have a sitter to stay with the dogs. Not because they need it, rather because due to neighborhood harassment I must always have a witness to the dogs' good behavior.) Day-to-day life in (most of) Switzerland is a far cry from the tourism posters.
But I would come to a different conclusion. I would never leave an animal behind - a pet is for life, full stop. Instead, I would reconsider moving to Switzerland if you still have that option. Unless you can find a farm property well isolated from neighbors, your life here could be difficult. Is the job worth the compromises that might be required?
I have had my horse for over 20 years, and now she is 32 years old. Last summer 2013 my husband and I brought her to Switzerland after months of serious thought, planning, organization, and regular vet checks to see if there would be any health issues besides her age that we would need to take into consideration. Now here in the pasture just outside of our apartment she is very happy, healthy and getting lots of attention. Seeing her happy here made all the work and personal sacrifice to cover the expense worth it.
The process was greatly simplified by our shipping company, Equiflight, run by Katie Forest, who personally walked us through the entire process, step-by-step. I highly recommend her. She is great to work with and was very patient to explain everything and answer our never-ending questions. Our horse was quarantined at her facility, and I felt so much better knowing that she was not just some agent, but that she was personally overseeing the care, quarantine, transportation, etc. of my horse. Yes it was expensive, but not as much as I had imagined it would be. It just depends on how important it is to you.
I would be glad to explain the process in detail if it would be helpful to someone in a similar situation, but with regulations constantly changing, it may be even more helpful to contact Katie Forest directly. I wish you and your equine friend the best!