After an unsuccessful attempt to find my dream horse in the US, I am planning a trip to Europe. I have found an agent that seems to be good but don’t really know her yet. I will check out references. My main questions are to the mechanics of the transaction. Is money put into escrow until the horse arrives and it can be verified that it is the correct horse? Are there contracts like here? How can I make sure we get what we thought we purchased? Any advice on how to “vet” the agent besides references and how to keep control over the process would be welcomed!
1 Like
You pay for the horse before the horse leaves, just like a horse from anywhere. Everything will be passported and microchipped and will be verified multiple times in and out of quarantine and air shipping. It’s not a big deal.
3 Likes
Great questions… I am considering do this in the next year myself and it seems overwhelming. Ill be following…
It does seem like it would be overwhelming and not for the faint of heart to import! However, just want to say happy horse hunting and good luck! I hope you find the perfect match, how exciting!
1 Like
Does anyone know if the agent is usually part of the transaction or takes on any liability if something goes awry? I would also consider an escrow account for a sizable funds transfer if I still find something here. Once the horse walks off the trailer then the money is released. I assume most people never had an issue, but it is amazing that this is still an old “hand shake” type business 
It’s not a handshake. You sign a contract/bill of sale. There are fairly stringent sales laws for horses in Europe, far more so than the US.
I’m a bit confused.
what is your concern? That the wrong horse will be shipped to you? You would have legal recourse. That the horse will be crippled or die in transport? You face the same risk with your horses every day; that’s what insurance is for.
what responsibility or liability would you expect your agent to accept?
also why should any seller release a horse to someone who won’t release funds?
I recommend you find a reputable agent you can trust. If you can’t find an agent you trust and can’t handle everything yourself I’m sure you can find something in the US…although the risks remain the same.
Understand horses are always a risky investment but the idea that you’ll be shipped the wrong horse isn’t really all that likely. And again you would have legal recourse. The odds that sellers and agents and vets and quarantine and national federations and shippers would all collude against you are pretty low
And Barney Ward is dead :lol::lol::lol:
1 Like
I shopped with two agents last year - 2 days with each. I made an offer from the airport on the way home subject to vetting. We then started the process of reviewing x-rays. All of the horses I looked at had an initial set of more than 30 x-rays. That’s common in Holland. After settling on a horse, agreeing on the price, reviewing the x-rays, we had a full vetting and a few more x-rays taken. Make sure to have an independent vet do the vetting. Also, get a good sport horse vet here to review your x-rays. When you are looking at this many films, you will find things in every horse. You need someone with experience to tell you whether that will matter for your purposes with the horse.
After all is approved from vetting. You will receive a written contract, which you will sign and return. The contract will have the IBN (internation banking number) and the price to be sent in euros to the seller. This is a wire transfer that most banks can handle. I sent the commission separately to the agent and I paid a commission to my trainer who shopped with me. Each of these were paid separately and directly.
One agent that I shopped with told me the price of the horse as it included all commissions (his and trainers). I trusted him because of my trainer’s decades long relationship buying horses there, but I preferred the method of my second agent that spelled out base price and each commission.
I then began looking for a shipping company. I used horseflights. I executed the agreement with them, but they did not require payment until the horse landed in the U.S. I paid via wire transfer for a small discount. They arranged door to door transportation.
Get insurance before the horse begins traveling as you will need separate policies for the transport to U.S. and the major medical/mortality when it arrives.
One piece of advice I would give is to trust your gut. If something seems off, it probably is. I had the trip of a lifetime and I absolutely love the horse we found. Feel free to P.M. me. I have only done this once, but I had the benefit of traveling with a friend and trainer who had done this many times.
3 Likes
I did what you described - created an escrow account through our lawyer. We released the funds to the seller when the horse got on the trailer. I was leery at sending a large sum of money to someone I hadn’t met so I understand your concern. The sale contracts are basically the same as what we have here. I bought additional insurance to cover the horses travel and used Dutta for shipping (who were great).
2 Likes
Thanks for the detailed responses. Yes my thought about risk is sending money (even in the US) before having the horse in receipt, but it is easier to sue here than overseas. I have been in business too long to not be concerned about having contracts and some sort of recourse if things go wrong. And yes, some of the concern is receiving the horse selected and in what shape it is in. I have picked an agent but the only way I can verify who she is or how well she handles things is with references she provides. I am sure I’ll not receive names of people that were not happy. Every thread I read on the boards mentions “an agent you trust” but how do you “trust” somebody you have never met and don’t know more of than their website and references. My trainer has shopped in Europe before but was not impressed what the agent they used. I know I might be looking for issues where there are none - but I earned my money the hard way and am careful with wiring it out of the bank without any real recourse, be it here or in Europe.
Thanks again!
Finding an agent you can trust may take more leg work if you don’t have any connections. Does your trainer have any friends they can call to get a recommendation/introduction for you? Do you work with any clinicians with European bases/contacts?
Shipping the horse wherever it is going to go is your responsibility, so I can’t imagine a seller waiting for payment until the horse arrives in good condition. Typically the contract will state the ownership transfers upon receipt of the wire transfer. It’s then up to you to contract with whatever shipping company/agent you want to get the horse to you, and oftentimes to pay board if it takes you more than a few weeks to arrange transport. If you used an escrow agent, I suspect the seller would want funds released as soon as the horse is tendered to the shipper/agent to head for the airport/quarantine - since they have no responsibility for anything that happens after that point.
2 Likes
It is very hard when neither you nor your trainer have any connections. In that case, I really do suggest finding someone who deals in imported horses already in the US who does have connections. Think of a place like HW Farm or Impulsion Unlimited. There are many more. You’ll obviously pay a premium, but I think this would give you personally more peace of kind and also get you in the door with reputable agents.
1 Like
Thanks - I checked into HW but they tend to only have very young horses and the nice part about an agent it that they show you different horses at various places. I also had looked at Impulsion Unlimited but didn’t find anything I was looking for. After searching for over 4 months, unsuccessful trips and horses not passing PPEs, I am ready to go overseas but just want to ensure I know how things work.
I am ok with the funds being released once the horse is in transit. I just want to ensure, as much as possible, that the horse is well taken care of until the transport and that the “correct” horse is being shipped.
They are agents did you contact agents in the US who deal with a lot of imports and tell them what you are looking for or did you just look at websites and listed sales horses? Most dealers are also agents with extensive networks of other dealers and agents. Many great horses are never ever advertised publicly and sold exclusively through networking.
2 Likes
A few US ones who forwarded information about horses they are aware of, which were one or two scattered over Europe. The agent in Holland would arrange the entire tour and cover Holland and Northern Germany. She also works closely with Eugene Reesink
1 Like
You’ve only been searching for 4 months? 
You’re lucky you actually found horses you wanted to vet during that time. With payment, you pay for the horse once you decide you want the horse and commit to purchasing it, not after it’s in transit. When people sell horses in the US, they don’t release it until it’s paid for. Same thing elsewhere. Line up immediate mortality insurance on the horse, and shipping insurance (extra) before hitting “send” on that wire transfer. Then you’re covered.
You will receive the horse you purchased. All horses in Europe have microchips. The vet will read it and has a form for the vetting which includes microchip number and a drawing of a horse, in which they draw in your horse’s markings. The horse will also have a passport, which shows microchip number and markings. If you can’t be at the vetting for some reason, get a video of it. Things move very fast in horse purchases in Europe. You can usually schedule the vetting the next day or two. If digital xrays are not available to be emailed to your vet back home, take the xrays with you and hand them off to your vet when you return to the US. Or, they could be mailed.
Horses are a huge European business and special care is taken every step of the sales and purchase process. No good agent wants something to happen to a horse and for them to get a bad reputation. All the agents I’ve dealt with walked the horse thru every step of the process, from vetting to all details of export and all the shipping arrangements on their end. They care very much for the horse’s well being and want the transaction to be successful and pleasant for all involved.
All prices are negotiable. Make an offer if you think a price is too high. Resink and other large, commercial trainers (one’s who’s main business is selling horses for export $$$)is nice and fine, but you will be paying for the Resink and other big name and fancy farm padded prices. There are thousands of much smaller farms who are just as nice, or maybe not, who have nice horses. Then there are the hidden gems, the back yard person who has a few horses. You’d be surprised at how many really nice horses there are in the most unsuspecting places. There is more potential for negotiating room on horses from people other than Resink and the like.
The process goes something like this:
- Tell agent in advance exactly what type of horse you’re looking for. Be open to seeing some that might be a little out of that box one way or another.
- Agent picks you up from airport. I recommend you taking a red eye flight, sleeping on the plane and arriving early morning. Let the agent know in advance if you want to immediately see horses. I always have.
- Drive around and see a million horses all day long. Make a list of pros and cons for each to keep track and to narrow it down.
- Narrow down your prospects. You might know on ride #1 that you’ve found your horse, and only ride it once, then make offer. It happens. Or, you might need to see it again.
- Choose horse, make offer, schedule vetting, vet it, send xrays to your vet.
- Fly home, or maybe do all below from over there if you are planning on sticking around for awhile.
- Complete transaction. Wire transfer funds for purchase price and shipping to the agent. (this could vary. it’s possible you pay shipping separately to someone else).
- Congratulations, you own a new horse!
- Agent arranges pre-export details, export details, shipping details.
- Agent will tell you which US animal import company they usually work with, but there are several. You contact them, find out price for quarantine. Pay that.
- You contact shipping companies, or ask the import company if they recommend any particular shippers who ship a lot of horses to your area. Call them, get price, arrange shipping. Pay.
- If it’s a well known agent who moves lots of horses, they probably have some pull as for shipping quickly. Most horses ship anywhere from 1-2 weeks after purchase.
- Horse flies into your US port of choice, goes into quarantine for various amount of time, depending upon the sex of your horse. Geldings are shortest. 2-3 days.
- Once released from quarantine, shipper picks up your new horse and ships it to you.
- Your new horse arrives at your door step and you are the happiest person on the planet! :yes:
The entire process is a super fun addicting adventure. You will probably want to import a few more. Enjoy the process!
4 Likes
Keep in mind that what passes in a Euro PPE many times will not pass here. And the future market for your horse can affect the PPE results.
My vet does consult work for US buyers shopping overseas; they send her the xrays done in Europe for her to look over. She often doesn’t know the buyer or the seller, and is contacted by referral. Sometimes all is well, but she’s also found old injuries (even on young horses), bone chips, or signs of the beginning of degenerative problems. Many times she finds issues that the buyer’s US vet didn’t see, or didn’t disclose.
Once she tells the buyer what she found, the buyer either decides to go ahead with the purchase or not. Either way, they were able to make an informed decision. Suffice to say she’s disappointed a few trainers whose clients decided not to buy the horse after all.
1 Like
You can get whatever kind of PPE you’d like. I’ve mostly bought horses from Spain, Netherlands, and Belgium. I mainly transport them to Germany…but have shipped to the USA. Dutta Corp was great to work with.
A lot of horses already have x-rays taken and offered for the potential buyer. I always choose to take new ones for myself…even if they aren’t so old. I’ve had sellers/agents offer to video the PPE if I am buying sight unseen, so there’s that too. I then send the x-rays to my personal vet(s). I always try to find a FEI Official Vet for various reasons to do the PPE in the horses home country.
If everything goes well with the PPE, I then review and sign the sales contract and transfer funds (IBAN). From there shipping is arranged and the horse is transported. I typically arrange my own shipping within Europe because I have a transport company I prefer. I’ve always received the correct horse and no shady business. Usually a buyer will not release the horse for shipping until the purchase price is received, in full. You can of course see if other options are available, you just have to ask the seller. It really depends on them how/when the will accept payment.
Also, make sure the horse is insured prior to shipping.
3 Likes
Is there any pro in your area that regularly imports horses? Even if it is not your trainer, they will likely be willing to work with you for a fee.
I know that if I were going to import - there are two pros in my general area that have imported very successfully over and over again. I don’t specifically work with either one, but they have helped other riders who are not their training clients with a Europe buying trip. I’d certainly seek out their assistance, as I am sure they have a great network of reasonably priced horses.
1 Like
I want to second something mentioned above. X-rays that ‘pass’ a PPE in Europe are very different than ‘clean’ x-rays here. Sometimes you will get a report with your x-rays that grade them - 1 to 4. I’ve seen horses that had all 1 x-rays rejected by a US vet based on those same x-rays.
I’ve also seen schoolmasters that had 2s and a few 3s that the vet was happy with.
2 Likes
