Ok, so I have found a job and am living in Germany now and love it here. My problem is my two horses. I have a 11 year old Arab gelding that I am in love with. I have had him all his life and he is the love of my life. We have gone up to training level but my main enjoyment is trail riding and just spending time with him.
My second horse I bought more out of impulse. She moved and jumped way to good to leave her in the dump she was in. And she has the best mind. She was bred for racing but never made it to training. (I got her at a year and a half old, now almost 3) she has a lot of potential to be a really good horse!
My question is whether to bring them both over or Sell my baby and leave my gelding with family (he would get the best of care)?
Living here for 3 months now and I just don’t see myself moving back. There is a lot of horse flesh around, but at a cost. And I know this sounds weird but I hate horse shopping! The horses I have just have always one way or another ended up in my pasture! At the same time I could probably fly them both here for the same price to buy two new horses! And I am very attached to both. I am just scared that if I want to move back I just can’t leave them there once I have flow them across the world.
Anyways anyone get stuck in this situation before? What would/did you do?
Any advice would be much appreciated!!
They would be flying from LAX/Amsterdam so a long trip.
Have you researched how expensive it is to import? IMHO I would not do it to most horses unless they had a career or a need to be on the other side of the pond. Besides, there are tons and tons of horses in Germany.
If I were you and finances could afford it, I might want to stay in Germany a little longer, wait for the honeymoon phase to disappear, wait for the finances and the reality of a job to sink in. If you still love it in a year, you know. Don’t make any big decisions until you know exactly where you’ll be in the next year or five. If your parents or friends are okay taking care of your horse[s] and you can afford it, I’d see about leasing them out or keeping them at home with the parents until you know.
My best friend has been in Germany now for four years - god, it feels like a lifetime. I remember dropping her off at Logan and watching her leave and thinking about our many talks on the way there, and leading up to her move: how she was never going to come back, how much she could do in Germany now that she graduated, how she’d miss the horses but that Germany had the best ones and how that I would need to visit – I never did because I knew if I did I wouldn’t come back… She found a wonderful man and I was afraid I’d lost her forever.
Except last month, she sent me a message informing me she is back for good in September. What changed? She grew up a little - she realized how little she had over there; she didn’t have the same network of friends and family, or support. And for some people that’s much more important than a location.
Very good point. I was going to wait awhile longer and let everything set in. But it’s hard leaving them there. Unfortunately I do know how much it costs and Its not a problem. Have a really good friend who flys horses to the US all the time. And when I go back to the US next will actually get to be on a horse flight as a groom. So I will see the how the whole thing works
I would stop looking at is as a cost to replace analysis. They are horses and your pets. Do the research. If your plan is to stay over there…then, I personally would bring over my horses if I thought they would do well with the horse management. For example, if I moved to CA or back to Hawaii (where I’m from)…I would not take my favorite horse. He would not do well with the turn out situation there. I know that and wouldn’t put him through that.
But I would not evaluate bringing them on what it would cost me to replace them with local horses. They are my horses. I could understand not shipping for short term or if you couldn’t afford it. But otherwise…that is like asking whether I should move my dog with me…they are my sanity check and part of the family. If I can swing it financially…I’d try and get it done if I’m committed to stay. You just need to know you are committed to stay and I would save enough so if I moved back to the US…they would be coming there too. Also, just for planning, assume you will be moving back. You really do not know where you will be in 5 years.
Curious where you ended up in Germany? I grew up over there as a military brat and went to a university over there. If I could, I would move back in a heartbeat but honestly I consider both the US and Germany my homes and have friends in both places etc… and I understand the culture 
I never had a horse in Germany, just rode at various barns and worked etc. My dog went with me when we were stationed in Germany and the year I was in college she stayed with my mom.
If hypothetically I was to move back over there right now, I have a couple of horses that would go with me - my competition horse and a youngster I bred that I think is special. My older mares would not go and my gelding would not go. The big decision would be the stallion but that is another ball of wax!
Germany is a great place and I miss it all the time, but it isn’t for everyone. It does have a different culture and the rules are the rules over there LOL. Plus the language barriers etc… give it time, think it through and I would ONLY ship a horse over if you had money to ship both ways as well as quarantine etc saved and in the bank and DON’T touch it AT ALL except to move the horse.
You have gotten some great advice already. I do agree that maybe hold out for the year mark & see if you still have that honeymoon feeling, or if you think you may not stay there long-term. We lived there for three years thanks to the U.S. Army, it was one of the best experiences of my life, but knew it would not last forever. I rode weekly at the local stable where even the “worst” school horse had much to teach me. You could do this, and at the end of your deadline, you’ll have a good idea what you want to do, and also some ins if you would like to buy a German-bred for yourself and sell your young horse.
I spent most of my life in Germany, grew up and went to university in Munich before I moved to Canada in 2009.
Not sure how long you have been there for, but I would wait until you are absolutely sure. If you are on a temporary work permit, it is actually not all that easy to get a permanent status there. So maybe wait for the honeymoon phase to be over, see how things develop and then give youself a horsey present once you are certain you’re staying.
In the meantime, you could ride German horses (school horse programs are much more common there), get to know the way German barns work (e.g. higher board prices, less space, very different turnout situations) and see whether a German horse / German barn is what you want…
My friend imported a horse from Germany to Canada and paid in the vicinity of $10k for the transport. So either way, you could bring yours, or would be able to buy an ok warmblood for that money.
[QUOTE=PrincessZiva;8778262]
Ok, so I have found a job and am living in Germany now and love it here. My problem is my two horses. I have a 11 year old Arab gelding that I am in love with. I have had him all his life and he is the love of my life. We have gone up to training level but my main enjoyment is trail riding and just spending time with him.
My second horse I bought more out of impulse. She moved and jumped way to good to leave her in the dump she was in. And she has the best mind. She was bred for racing but never made it to training. (I got her at a year and a half old, now almost 3) she has a lot of potential to be a really good horse!
My question is whether to bring them both over or Sell my baby and leave my gelding with family (he would get the best of care)?
Living here for 3 months now and I just don’t see myself moving back. There is a lot of horse flesh around, but at a cost. And I know this sounds weird but I hate horse shopping! The horses I have just have always one way or another ended up in my pasture! At the same time I could probably fly them both here for the same price to buy two new horses! And I am very attached to both. I am just scared that if I want to move back I just can’t leave them there once I have flow them across the world.
Anyways anyone get stuck in this situation before? What would/did you do?
Any advice would be much appreciated!!
They would be flying from LAX/Amsterdam so a long trip.[/QUOTE]
I agree with the waiting part.
I have 2 different trains of thought:
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If it was “the love of my life”, I’d certainly bring them with me if I was 1000% certain if was staying. I wouldn’t leave my dogs and I wouldn’t leave my special horse, that is just me. I would however, find or sell a few of my very nice horses if I was in your situation, but there is one that I would not even consider it. I don’t care if you are surrounded by great horseflesh.
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If you have a place that is 100% reliable to keep them ( at least the “love of you life”) in the States while you figure it out, why not? I’d consider selling the young one if it is too much a burden or to let her continue her training etc.
I would sell or give away the youngster. Then, I would research the boarding situation in your area. If there is a nice stable with good turnout and good trails, the horse would be headed over on the next flight. I would also start saving money for the horse to fly home when I decided to fly home.
My daughter almost went to vet school in Ireland. Part of her calculations of vet school costs included bringing her horse to Ireland and then shipping him home in 4-5 years. Fortunately for her budget, she instead went to our state school.
Yeah, I’ve moved around a lot and waiting it out a while longer is a good probably the best idea. Just to be sure. They cost too much to keep transporting and it’s very hard on some horses. Better to wait until you are so settled you can’t imagine coming back for any reason. 
