plastered again Posted January 17, 2008 Share Posted January 17, 2008 Hi, We are moving to the Dordogne at the end of March/beginning of April and need some advice regarding moving our 2 horses. We were planning on driving them over ourselves but as it normally takes us 17 hours in the car we would need to find somewhere to stable them overnight to give them a break. Has anyone any experience of yards in Caen or Calais that offer an overnight livery?ThanksAnj Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cooperlola Posted January 17, 2008 Share Posted January 17, 2008 Have a look HERE. There are some livery yards and gites with accommodation etc. I'm not in the area so can't make any recommendations I am afraid.I'm sure you've done all this but do beware, you do need import and vet's certificates. DEFRA insisted to me that all mine needed were normal passports, but I used an experienced transport firm (in Shifnal, as it happens so not a million miles from you) and luckily she was able to prise the correct paperwork from them. If I had taken their word for it, my ponies might still be in the UK! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plastered again Posted January 17, 2008 Author Share Posted January 17, 2008 Hi, Thanks for that, i will have a look. Yes, i've spoken to Defra and got all the export forms etc that i need.Out of interest, who did you use to move yours- i'm still open to the idea of getting a transporter to move them and save me the hassle, it probably doesn't cost much more when you take into account ferry charges, fuel, livery etc- i can then fly over and meet them there!Anj Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cooperlola Posted January 17, 2008 Share Posted January 17, 2008 Veronica Shilton http://www.horsetransport.uk.net/She was not cheap but my goodness, was she worth it! The girls arrived dry and happy and she could not have been more helpful. I had the whole lorry to myself and stashed all their gear in it also - so it was a part removals lorry too.[:)] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacqui Too Posted January 17, 2008 Share Posted January 17, 2008 [quote user="plastered again "] Out of interest, who did you use to move yours- i'm still open to the idea of getting a transporter to move them and save me the hassle, it probably doesn't cost much more when you take into account ferry charges, fuel, livery etc- i can then fly over and meet them there!Anj[/quote]Hi I got a estimate from Yew Tree Horse Transport last year to take two horses from Shropshire to Dordogne and I was amazed how much it was. They quoted me £2,800 but they do all the paper work and it may be worth it if you are exporting them to France for good . But I will be taking mine back! If you have your own transport and your horses are used to traveling long distances as mine are , I would do it yourselfI have friends who several years ago traveled a team of mounted games ponies in two lorries to the south of France for the world championships they did it themselves and they only had one overnight stop somewhere in central France. There are rules that apply to professional transporter that don't apply to private people and therefore it is possible to take horses to France without the need for stabling.I have not done this yet as our house is not yet habitable and we are not spending long periods there yet but it is possible that when we do stay for more that 3 months it will be impractical to leave them with a house sitter for that length of time.This is how I would do it: drive down to Southampton aprox 5 1/2 hours rest feed and water, take an overnight ferry 7 hours, this time on the ferry should not be as stressful for them as traveling on a road so therefore they should be resting, when in France find the first 'Green ' aire and unload them to stretch their legs and if your lucky have a nibble ( I know of a wonderful one on route from St Malo) then it would take a least another 8 hours and possibly one more stop for water.I would only do this this with horses that are used to traveling, mine are used to long hours on the lorry some times we leave at 3.00am to get to a show at 6.00am 1 hour for my rider/ driver to get some kip and 1 hour to get ready for the ring at 8.00am and before now we have not got home till 11.00 pm so I know they can cope.Please let us know what you decide I would love to hear how you got on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynda777 Posted January 17, 2008 Share Posted January 17, 2008 Try Philip Hirst of http://www.skyehorsetransport.com. He's experienced and good with the horses. He's also not as expensive as some of the other more well known companies. He brought my 6 all the way from Ireland (via the UK). That was 3 days, 2 ferries and 2 overnight stops. They all arrived in good shape - mentally and physically - including a yearling that had never travelled before and a neurotic Arab. [;-)] I travelled with them too so I can recommend him. It certainly made the journey less stressful to hand the responsibility over to a professional.Lynda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cooperlola Posted January 18, 2008 Share Posted January 18, 2008 It is a matter of confidence, imo, in yourself and your animals. If you and they are used to long journeys then diy would be far cheaper. OK, it cost me 3 times as much as the ponies cost in the first place, but I was well satisfied and I know I would have been anxious if I had done it myself. Mainly because we only normally travel for an hour or two at most - so I and they are not used to it - least of all towing with an RHD Landy in France which I had not done much of at the time.I did consider doing it myself and thought about the tunnel as it's so quick. Has anybody tried that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynda777 Posted January 18, 2008 Share Posted January 18, 2008 Just a further comment for "plastered again" (love the name!). I don't know whether you have a trailer or a lorry but that may also influence your decision. Long journeys by trailer are much, much more stressful on the horse's legs as they feel so much more of the bumps from the road. A lorry (usually) has much better suspension and gives the horses a more stable, smooth ride. Also, of course, trailering is much slower.......Lynda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacqui Too Posted January 18, 2008 Share Posted January 18, 2008 [quote user="cooperlola"] I did consider doing it myself and thought about the tunnel as it's so quick. Has anybody tried that?[/quote]We have traveled through the tunnel last year from Shropshire to Dordogne (no horses but with a large caravan) and although the actual tunnel experience was very easy and quick, but it took longer to get to Folkstone and so much longer to get from Calais to Dordogne that we would not do it again and for that reason I think that the horses would get less time on the roads which is what I think is tyring and stressful, at least on the ferry they would be able to snooze for up to 6 hours (hopefully on a calm crossing)If I lived where you do I would have considered it too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plastered again Posted January 18, 2008 Author Share Posted January 18, 2008 HiI think we are going to go with the diy route, We can borrow our old lorry and go portsmouth to caen and then stable them in france overnight,as much as i would like to do it in one hit, i think 18 hours is to long.I dont think you can travel horses on the tunnel and it would be an extra 250miles!!!Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triciajh Posted January 18, 2008 Share Posted January 18, 2008 You can't take horses on Eurotunnel-you're right.Loc Horse Transport are excellent.(Liz) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacqui Too Posted January 18, 2008 Share Posted January 18, 2008 [quote user="plastered again "]HiII dont think you can travel horses on the tunnel and it would be an extra 250miles!!!Mark[/quote]You are perfectly right Euro Tunnel do not take livestock, even on their freight trains, all livestock go over by ferry!Glad I found that one out now so to rule it out for the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pawsy Posted January 18, 2008 Share Posted January 18, 2008 We used Parkers. They were NOT expencive and they were brilliant. Good luck to you and the horses.[:D] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin963 Posted January 18, 2008 Share Posted January 18, 2008 You've got a lot of suggestions already but we use Peter & Lynette Luck:http://www.equinefreight.co.uk/Based in Cornwall but will fetch from you I'm sure, they're all over the place (geographically!) regularly but our Fell (who travels regularly) loves them - probably more than he loves us!If you use transporters and you can be a bit flexible about dates then do ask about part loads. I was pretty stunned at that £2800 price quoted earlier! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cooperlola Posted January 18, 2008 Share Posted January 18, 2008 Golly Martin, I didn't know you were a fellow Fell person.To be fair to Veronica, she will travel four for the same amount. She does not do part loads, unless you arrange to share in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacqui Too Posted January 18, 2008 Share Posted January 18, 2008 [quote user="Martinwatkins"] I was pretty stunned at that £2800 price quoted earlier![/quote]Yes I choked a bit, but to be fair it was for 2 There seems to be lots of brit horse owners in the Dordogne!Has anyone got any info or experience of the rigmarole fore getting them back into the UK?It is one of the big issues why we can't stay in France for long periods as house sitters or livery fees would be to prohibitive for us, and my youngest is only rising 6 year-old and as most of my horses are with me for life it will be a long time before I am horseless!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynda777 Posted January 18, 2008 Share Posted January 18, 2008 I had 6 to move from Ireland. I got a few quotes before deciding on Skye Horse Transport. One company quoted £6,000! We ended up paying about half that.I wanted to travel with them, which was a factor. One company said that it would not be possible as it was too stressful for the owner! [8-)] Needless to say they didn't get my vote. I was lucky that I had a 9 horse lorry just for my horses so there was room for all the gear too. Beware companies offering part-loads. Your horse might end up on a 5 day tour of Europe before they get to your door. [:(]Lynda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plastered again Posted January 18, 2008 Author Share Posted January 18, 2008 Hi all, Thanks for suggestions and advice- we contacted Veronica and she also quoted £2800!(although, like you say that is an individual load and we could take extra stuff) and another company also quoted £2600 so we have decided that the easiest option is to move them ourselves- they are used to the lorry,we know they travel well in it and it means we can put all their rugs, tack, feed etc (of which we have collected quite a lot over the years!) with them. (plus any extra bits from the house that need to be moved aswell)We can take them from Poole to Cherbourg for £385.00 which is only a 4 1/2 hour crossing and a student who used to lodge with me has family that live in the Mayenne and have said we can rest them there overnight (and us) for nothing then we can have a nice steady drive down the next day!Anj Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin963 Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 Quote:Golly Martin, I didn't know you were a fellow Fell person.Well it's really Wendy who's the pony fanatic. Bert is 16 and rather lazy, coupled with an extremely clear view of what he likes (and likes not) to do.He does love pulling a trap, and we duly shipped our (rather small) vehicle out the first year. Four weeks later we were unceremoniously dumped in a ditch outside Genis while Bert and an only partially-upright trap rattled off at high speed towards the village. I had lost my boots in the accident so was pursuing him in socks. We managed to commandeer a Brit car to join in the chase, and although Bert was shaken and had a minor cut where a shaft had poked him we were all unscathed, although the trap has never been the same since. No matter, I made a formal declaration that I was NOT going out in the wretched thing again so it's at the back of the barn and Wendy goes out on a saddle, which is much less to Bert's liking.We did use the trap one more time (both of us hanging on to Bert's head) to conduct a French bride to her wedding as no-one else for miles around has a pony and trap. It was nerve-wracking.Have you all noticed how a superficially deserted French village (particularly at lunch time) will transform into a bustling hive of activity if the Brits organise a "spectacle" for the inhabitants? I had no idea how many people lived on the eastern fringes of Genis until our "incident" with a runaway pony.I'd add a photo of Bert but there's no point - they all look exactly the same!Do you (did you?) have a Fell? I thought it was internal combustion that fired you up Coops! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin963 Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 re return to the UK (Jacqui Too)I'll get Wendy to post more if necessary cos she deals with this, and obviously P & L Luck do most of the paperwork, but I CAN tell you that a vet inspection before return to the UK is no longer necessary.The first year we took Bert back and forth we had to get our French vet out to inspect him (one of the most cursory (and cheap) inspections I've ever witnessed, a quick glance and a <<Oui, il est tres beau>>) before he went home, but that requirement was dropped in 2003. We just ring up the Lucks (who have become great friends) and tell them our dates. They then pick up Bert whenever they're "passing" and then - very kindly - keep him at Liskeard until we're back (whichever way we're going) and then bring him on to us. It makes the whole thing very easy, and the cost remains bearable because he's always got a few others going as well. He travels very well, and adores Peter and Lynette, and positively skips onto the lorry (althouh being a Fell his interest in food over-rules any other considerations so he's a sucker for a tempting snack strategically placed!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cooperlola Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 duplicate deleted - at it again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cooperlola Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 Yes, I do, Martin[IMG]http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q103/cooperlola/gallatieres04toapril05183.jpg[/IMG]And oddly, this pic' was taken 5 minutes after coming off said lorry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin963 Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 Thanks coops, lovely pic. A big contrast to the grey wet January day outside our Devon windows this am. Bert looks more like a seal than a pony at the moment, although he really isn't that bothered by rain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cooperlola Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 Yup, Bronte doesn't look like that at the moment either. In fact, her camouflage is so good she is hard to distinguish from the muddly field she is standing in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacqui Too Posted January 19, 2008 Share Posted January 19, 2008 [quote user="Martinwatkins"]re return to the UK (Jacqui Too)I'll get Wendy to post more if necessary cos she deals with this, and obviously P & L Luck do most of the paperwork, but I CAN tell you that a vet inspection before return to the UK is no longer necessary.[/quote]Thank you martin, that would be brilliant.So nice to know that someone else does this and any info would be very helpful.By the way you are only 17 miles away from me at Pommier Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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