What it costs to bring one of our horses home
Importing a horse from England sounds harder than it is. The flight is routine, the paperwork is a known list, and on nearly every line of that list the work is ours, not yours. Pick a horse below, tell us where it is going, and see the whole picture: what the move costs, what the government wants, and how the weeks run.
Figures last checked 8 September 2026. Estimates for planning, not a quote.
What is travelling?
Taken from the horse's record. Change it if your plans differ.
A foal must be fully weaned and halter broken before we can even book the transport.
Where is it going?
It changes the flight, the European stabling and the quarantine bill.
What are you paying for the horse?
Put in what you have offered, or what you have already agreed with Harriet. Duty and tax are charged on that figure, so the moment it is your real number, so is everything below.
Nella has a price of £18,000 (about $24,000), Select. We have started you there.
about $15,500
to get the horse there, usually between $14,000 – $17,000
$3,500
The 10% Section 301 duty and the customs processing fee. This one is charged on what the horse cost, not on moving it, so it climbs with the price of the horse.
Across both, $17,000 is published government fees, tax and quarantine list prices, which are firm. The rest is freight, ground transport and handling, and no equine air agent publishes a UK price list — we get those quoted for you.
$50,500 – $53,000
$33,500 for the horse, plus the move and the tax above.
Where the money goes
Ranges, because air freight and quarantine both move with the season and the route.
Transport
Road transport, Kent to Europe
Collection in the UK, then the shared load down to the departure airport in Europe. Horses are collected Tuesday to Thursday and the transport leaves on the Sunday or Monday.
$500
European stabling and transfer to the aircraft
Up to two nights resting at holding stables near the departure airport, then the transfer to the flight.
$500
Airfreight, a third of a shared stall
The flight itself, with the horse sharing a jet stall three ways and a professional flying groom on board. A stall shared two ways, or a private box, costs more.
$6,000
Headcollar and lead rope
Every horse has to travel in a suitable headcollar and rope, and they are not supplied. Send one with the horse and this line is nothing; arrive without and the shipper charges for a set, payable before your horse is released at the other end. Nobody has ever been pleased to discover this one late.
$0 – $500
Rugs, boots and any other equipment
No equipment travels in the price of the transport. Anything you want sent with the horse has to be booked in advance, and it can attract its own customs clearance charges. Most buyers send nothing and re-equip at the other end, which is usually the cheaper answer.
$0
Onward delivery to your yard
From the quarantine facility to home. Excluded from every quote above, and entirely a question of distance.
$1,000 – $3,500
Veterinary and testing
Pre-export veterinary work and laboratory tests
Blood for equine infectious anaemia, piroplasmosis, dourine and glanders. It can be done at the yard with our own vet, no isolation needed. The United States retests everything on arrival and does not formally recognise these results, but they are what stops a horse being turned away at the border.
$1,000
Government fees, duty and tax
Export health certificates and paperwork
Two certificates are needed: one to transit the EU, one for the United States. This covers the applications and the signing.
$1,000
Courier to the ministry vet
The American certificate has to be countersigned in wet ink by a government veterinarian, and the original travels with the horse. This is getting it there and back.
$500
GB export customs clearance
The British export declaration. Charged per consignment, so it is shared if horses travel together.
$500
Veterinary inspection at the Calais border post
Since Brexit every horse enters the EU through an approved border control post. The appointment is booked three working days ahead against a draft certificate. Add £45 if the vet asks for the horse to be unloaded, which only happens if something is queried.
$500
EU transit customs and declarations
Transit clearance at the European departure airport, plus the entry summary declaration and logistics envelope the EU now requires.
$500
Three-day USDA quarantine and import permit
Every horse entering the United States goes through a federal import centre, where the government does its own testing for equine infectious anaemia, piroplasmosis, glanders and dourine. Los Angeles is dearer and bills the permit and clearance separately.
$4,000
US tariff, 10% of the horse's value
Since 24 July 2026 British goods carry an additional 10% duty, and horses are not excluded. It is charged on the price on the sales invoice, so it climbs with the horse. Above roughly £70,000 it is the largest single line in the whole move. It is under legal challenge, so confirm it with your customs broker before you commit.
$3,500
US customs processing fee
0.3465% of the value declared on the sales invoice, with a floor and a ceiling. The ceiling bites at about £140,000, so on most horses this is a couple of hundred pounds.
$500
Agents, broker and insurance
Shipping agent's fee
John Parker International's own fee for coordinating the whole move.
$500
Not counted above
Real costs we will not put a number against, because no honest published figure exists.
- Insurance, and one trap worth knowing. Rates are quoted individually and no insurer publishes a table, so we will not guess at a number. But two things are worth knowing before you fly a horse. A standard British annual policy typically covers transit within Western Europe only: crossing the Atlantic needs a territorial extension agreed with the underwriter, ideally arranged a fortnight before departure. And a mare's policy does not cover the foal she is carrying unless that foal is separately insured in utero.
- The flying groom. Not usually a separate charge. Grooms fly with the horses, roughly one to every three, and their cost sits inside the freight quote.
- Your own vet's pre-purchase examination. Arranged by you at an independent UK clinic, with the report and the full x-ray sets going straight to your veterinarian at home. Priced by the clinic.
- Sales tax at home. US state use tax, or the provincial side of Canadian tax if you import privately. A question for your own accountant rather than the border.
Duty and tax into the USA
Live horses sit under tariff lines that are themselves free of duty, but since 24 July 2026 British goods carry an additional 10% Section 301 duty, and horses are not among the exclusions. On a £25,000 horse that is about £2,500; on a £150,000 horse it is about £15,000, more than the flight. Twenty-five state attorneys general are challenging these duties in court, so the position may change.
There is no federal sales tax on import. You will pay a merchandise processing fee of 0.3464% of the declared value, capped at $651.50, and you will need a customs bond. Your own state's use tax may apply once the horse arrives, which is a question for your accountant rather than the border.
Every horse entering the United States goes through federal quarantine on arrival, where the government does its own testing for equine infectious anaemia, piroplasmosis, glanders and dourine. For a British horse the observation period is 42 hours, billed as three days. Sexually intact horses over two years old then move to a state CEM facility, and that is where the real time and money go.
Easy to get caught by
- A piroplasmosis result that is not negative means refusal of entry, with no retest. It is rare, and it is the one genuine risk in the process, which is why we test before a horse ever leaves.
- A horse coming temporarily to compete and return is not subject to the 10% duty. It applies to horses being sold. If you are importing to compete, tell your broker before entry, not after.
- Geldings skip CEM entirely. A gelding is weeks faster and thousands cheaper than a stallion, and that has nothing to do with the horse's quality.
- The merchandise processing fee caps rise on 1 October 2026, a small change but it does move.
- The four airports above are not a shortlist, they are the choice. A horse can only land where there is a USDA-approved import quarantine facility tied to that port of entry, and space has to be reserved at least three business days before arrival. Atlanta, Dallas and the other big passenger hubs are not options for a horse.
What each government wants
7 documents for this move. We handle 5 of them.
UK studbook and Central Equine Database
Equine passport and microchip
In place before anything else startsIdentifies the horse. The microchip number and passport details are written onto the export certificate and the passport travels with the horse.
Horses Smith handles thisAPHA (UK)
County Parish Holding number
Already in placeIdentifies the premises the horse is dispatched from. Ours, not something you need to obtain.
Horses Smith handles thisExport health certificate 1261 or 3987
Final clinical examination within 48 hours of departureThe certificate the United States requires, 1261 for mares and fillies and 3987 for males. Signed by an Official Veterinarian and countersigned by a government vet, with the original travelling with the horse in ink.
Horses Smith handles thisShipper and veterinarian
Declaration that the foal is weaned
Weeks before collection, not daysFoals must be fully weaned and halter broken before transport is even booked, and a broodmare must have her foal weaned off her before collection. Our shipper will not wean on the truck, and will refuse collection if it has been done too recently. The foal also has to be certified as never bred, which is what exempts it from CEM testing.
Horses Smith handles thisUSDA APHIS
Import permit, VS Form 17-129
At least 7 business days before the flightThe permit that authorises the horse to enter, filed through APHIS eFile. It is valid for fourteen days, so it is timed to the flight rather than obtained early.
Horses Smith handles thisQuarantine reservation at an Animal Import Center
At least 3 business days before arrivalSpace at the federal quarantine facility, and the port inspection appointment that goes with it.
Your shipping agent handles thisUS Customs and Border Protection
Customs entry and bond
On arrivalThe formal entry that clears the horse, together with the customs bond that secures the duty. Your broker files it. This is where the 10% Section 301 duty is assessed.
You handle thisHow the weeks run
- Week one
You choose the horse
Video, veterinary history, pedigree, and a conversation with Harriet. Vetting by a veterinarian of your choosing, with the report and x-rays going straight to your own vet.
- Week two to three
We book the flight and the quarantine
Agents run one or two shipments a week, so a slot is usually available within seven to fourteen days of booking.
- Week three to five
Isolation, testing and paperwork
The horse goes into approved isolation while the blood work and swabs are done and the export health certificate is prepared. The final examination happens in the last two or three days.
- Flight day
The horse flies
Road transport to the airport, then thirty to forty hours door to quarantine, with a professional flying groom looking after every horse on board.
- Three days after landing
Federal quarantine
The United States does its own testing on arrival: equine infectious anaemia, piroplasmosis, glanders and dourine. Forty-two hours of observation, billed as three days.
- Arrival
The horse reaches your yard
Released from quarantine and hauled home. We stay in touch afterwards, on settling in, management and anything that comes up. That part has no end date.
Send this to me
The whole thing — costs, paperwork and timeline — as an email you can keep, forward to your trainer, or show your accountant.
These are planning estimates, not a quote. Air freight moves with fuel, season and how full the flight is; veterinary and quarantine costs vary by clinic and facility; and government fees change. Figures were last checked on 8 September 2026. When you are ready to move a particular horse we get a firm quote from our shipping agent, and Harriet walks you through every line of it.
What each government asks for
The full requirement list for both destinations, whichever horse you are moving. The planner above narrows it to the animal you have in mind.
Importing a horse into the USA
Live horses sit under tariff lines that are themselves free of duty, but since 24 July 2026 British goods carry an additional 10% Section 301 duty, and horses are not among the exclusions. On a £25,000 horse that is about £2,500; on a £150,000 horse it is about £15,000, more than the flight. Twenty-five state attorneys general are challenging these duties in court, so the position may change.
There is no federal sales tax on import. You will pay a merchandise processing fee of 0.3464% of the declared value, capped at $651.50, and you will need a customs bond. Your own state's use tax may apply once the horse arrives, which is a question for your accountant rather than the border.
Every horse entering the United States goes through federal quarantine on arrival, where the government does its own testing for equine infectious anaemia, piroplasmosis, glanders and dourine. For a British horse the observation period is 42 hours, billed as three days. Sexually intact horses over two years old then move to a state CEM facility, and that is where the real time and money go.
Equine passport and microchip
UK studbook and Central Equine DatabaseIdentifies the horse. The microchip number and passport details are written onto the export certificate and the passport travels with the horse.
In place before anything else starts
County Parish Holding number
APHA (UK)Identifies the premises the horse is dispatched from. Ours, not something you need to obtain.
Already in place
Export health certificate 1261 or 3987
APHA (UK)The certificate the United States requires, 1261 for mares and fillies and 3987 for males. Signed by an Official Veterinarian and countersigned by a government vet, with the original travelling with the horse in ink.
Final clinical examination within 48 hours of departure · Every horse to the USA
CEM swabs and laboratory report
APHA laboratory, PenrithThree swab sites, cultured for at least seven days, proving the horse is free of contagious equine metritis before it flies. An in-foal mare is swabbed at the clitoral sites only.
In the weeks before departure, after any antibiotics have cleared · Mares and stallions over two years old only
Import permit, VS Form 17-129
USDA APHISThe permit that authorises the horse to enter, filed through APHIS eFile. It is valid for fourteen days, so it is timed to the flight rather than obtained early.
At least 7 business days before the flight · Every horse to the USA
Quarantine reservation at an Animal Import Center
USDA APHISSpace at the federal quarantine facility, and the port inspection appointment that goes with it.
At least 3 business days before arrival · Every horse to the USA
Booking at an approved state CEM facility
USDA APHIS and the State Animal Health OfficialWhere the CEM protocol is carried out after federal quarantine, and where the horse is finally released. Fewer states are approved for stallions than for mares, which can decide where your horse lands.
Arranged before the horse travels · Mares and stallions over two years old only
Customs entry and bond
US Customs and Border ProtectionThe formal entry that clears the horse, together with the customs bond that secures the duty. Your broker files it. This is where the 10% Section 301 duty is assessed.
On arrival · Every horse to the USA
Declaration that the foal is weaned
Shipper and veterinarianFoals must be fully weaned and halter broken before transport is even booked, and a broodmare must have her foal weaned off her before collection. Our shipper will not wean on the truck, and will refuse collection if it has been done too recently. The foal also has to be certified as never bred, which is what exempts it from CEM testing.
Weeks before collection, not days · Every foal
Letter confirming the mare is in foal
Examining veterinarianAn original letter giving the approximate breeding date. It is what exempts an in-foal mare from the cervical culture in quarantine.
Before departure, travels with the horse · In-foal mares only
Official sources: USDA APHIS, importing horses from Great Britain · APHIS import and export user fees · USDA CEM testing guidance (VS 13406.3) · CBP notice on Section 301 duties · UK export health certificate 1261 (mares and fillies) · UK export health certificate 3987 (males)
Importing a horse into Canada
There is no duty on a horse imported into Canada. Both tariff lines for live horses, purebred breeding animals and everything else, are free at the ordinary rate, so the UK trade agreement makes no difference and no origin paperwork is needed to get there. A good deal of what is written online about saving duty on Canadian horse imports is describing a saving that does not exist.
Tax is the real cost. Horses are excluded from Canada's zero-rated livestock, so GST at 5% is payable on the value at the border. If you import as a GST-registered business you can usually recover it. If you buy privately and live in an HST province, the border may charge you the full provincial rate instead, up to 15%, and there is nothing to recover. On a £40,000 horse that is the difference between about £2,000 and about £5,200, so it is worth establishing which you are before you buy.
Canada quarantines every imported horse for as long as the required tests take, with equine infectious anaemia and piroplasmosis retested on arrival. Unlike the United States, the quarantine premises can be private and CFIA-approved — including your own farm, if it meets the criteria. Sexually intact horses over two years old also go through the CEM protocol, which is where the weeks accumulate.
Equine passport and microchip
UK studbook and Central Equine DatabaseIdentifies the horse. The microchip number and passport details are written onto the export certificate and the passport travels with the horse.
In place before anything else starts
Pre-export isolation at an approved yard
APHA (UK)The horse is kept apart from horses not travelling while the pre-export tests are completed, at premises the Official Veterinarian approves. Canada asks for this; the United States does not, and tests on arrival instead.
The weeks immediately before departure · Canada only
County Parish Holding number
APHA (UK)Identifies the premises the horse is dispatched from. Ours, not something you need to obtain.
Already in place
Export health certificate 7421
APHA (UK)Canada's certificate, agreed between the UK and the CFIA. Signed by an Official Veterinarian in ink other than black. It cannot be signed until your Canadian import permit has been issued.
Final clinical examination within 72 hours of departure · Every horse to Canada
Equine infectious anaemia test (Coggins)
APHA laboratory, WeybridgeA negative ELISA or AGID result, required by Canada before export and repeated on arrival.
Blood drawn within 30 days of export · Every horse to Canada
Equine piroplasmosis test
APHA laboratoryA negative IFA result, required by Canada before export and repeated in quarantine on arrival.
Blood drawn within 30 days of export · Every horse to Canada
CEM swabs and laboratory report
APHA laboratory, PenrithThree swab sites, cultured for at least seven days, proving the horse is free of contagious equine metritis before it flies. An in-foal mare is swabbed at the clitoral sites only.
In the weeks before departure, after any antibiotics have cleared · Mares and stallions over two years old only
Import permit, form CFIA/ACIA 5860
CFIAApplied for by you as the Canadian importer through My CFIA, and it names your approved quarantine premises. Nothing else can proceed until it is issued: our vet cannot sign the export certificate without it, and it cannot be granted after the horse arrives.
Before export. Allow 10 business days · Every horse to Canada
CFIA approval of the quarantine premises
CFIA area officeThe premises must be inspected and approved against the minimum-security criteria before it can be named on your permit. Private farms can qualify.
Before the permit is issued · Every horse to Canada
Port of entry inspection appointment
CFIAThe horse and its papers are presented to a CFIA veterinary inspector at the first point of entry, then travel under licence directly to the quarantine premises.
Booked at least 24 hours before arrival · Every horse to Canada
Customs entry, form B3
Canada Border Services AgencyThe commercial entry that clears the horse and on which the GST or HST is assessed. No duty is payable.
On arrival · Every horse to Canada
Declaration that the foal is weaned
Shipper and veterinarianFoals must be fully weaned and halter broken before transport is even booked, and a broodmare must have her foal weaned off her before collection. Our shipper will not wean on the truck, and will refuse collection if it has been done too recently. The foal also has to be certified as never bred, which is what exempts it from CEM testing.
Weeks before collection, not days · Every foal
Letter confirming the mare is in foal
Examining veterinarianAn original letter giving the approximate breeding date. It is what exempts an in-foal mare from the cervical culture in quarantine.
Before departure, travels with the horse · In-foal mares only
Official sources: Health of Animals Regulations s.58(2), airports at which animals may be admitted · CFIA import conditions for horses (TAHD-DSAT-IE-2011-5) · CFIA import permit application · CFIA fees notice · Canadian Customs Tariff, chapter 1 · UK notes for guidance, export of horses to Canada (7421) · CRA GST/HST memorandum 4.4, agriculture
Questions buyers actually ask
How much does it cost to import a horse from the UK to the USA?
For a gelding landing in New York, just under £10,000 to get him from our yard to the door of American quarantine: £4,300 for the flight from Liège, £350 road transport out of Kent, £250 stabling in Europe, £700 of veterinary work and blood tests, about £1,400 of certificates, customs and the Calais border inspection, £150 agent's fee, and roughly £2,950 for the three-day USDA quarantine. Onward delivery to your yard is on top and depends entirely on distance. So is the 10% US tariff on the horse's price, and a customs processing fee. A mare over two adds CEM quarantine of about £2,400 and a fortnight; a stallion adds about £6,800 and a month or more. Miami, Chicago and Los Angeles all cost more to fly to than New York.
How much does it cost to import a horse from the UK to Canada?
There is no duty into Canada, but GST at 5% is payable on the horse's value, and a private buyer in an HST province may be charged the full provincial rate at the border instead. The CFIA fees are small: about CA$43 for the permit and CA$123 to have quarantine premises approved. Quarantine and CEM testing are commercial prices that vary by facility, and air freight has to be quoted. As a shape, expect the move to add roughly £9,000 to £17,000 for a gelding or a youngster, more for a mare and considerably more for a stallion.
Is there import duty on a horse into the United States?
The tariff lines for live horses are free of duty, but since 24 July 2026 British goods carry an additional 10% Section 301 duty and horses are not excluded from it. A horse imported temporarily to compete and return is not subject to it; a horse being sold is. The duties are being challenged in court, so confirm the current position with your customs broker.
Is there import duty on a horse into Canada?
No. Both tariff classifications for live horses are free of duty at the ordinary rate, so no origin paperwork or trade-agreement claim is needed to achieve it. The cost that does apply is tax: 5% GST, or potentially provincial HST for a private buyer.
How long does it take to import a horse from England?
The shared load runs to a weekly rhythm: horses are collected in the UK between Tuesday and Thursday, come to the shipper's yard in Kent for their paperwork, and the transport leaves for Europe on the Sunday or Monday. They rest a night or two at holding stables before the flight. On landing there is a three-day USDA quarantine. Then, only for sexually intact horses over two, CEM quarantine: fourteen to eighteen days for a mare, thirty to forty-five days for a stallion. A gelding skips that stage entirely, which is why a gelding is home weeks before a stallion bought on the same day.
Why is a stallion so much more expensive to import than a gelding?
Contagious equine metritis. A stallion over two years old must be cultured from four sites and then live-cover two test mares, who are themselves swabbed repeatedly and blood tested afterwards, all at the importer's expense, over thirty to forty-five days. A mare over two goes through a shorter version, fourteen to eighteen days. A gelding is exempt at any age. The gap between a gelding and a stallion is several thousand pounds and about a month, and it has nothing to do with the quality of either horse.
Can you import a foal or a mare in foal?
Yes to both, with one firm condition on each. A foal must be fully weaned and halter broken before the transport is booked: our shipper will not wean on the truck and will refuse collection if it has been done too recently, so the weaning has to be planned weeks ahead. In exchange, a foal under two that has never been bred skips CEM testing altogether, which makes it one of the cheaper and quicker horses to import. A mare in foal is swabbed at fewer sites and needs a letter from her vet confirming she is in foal, and she has to travel well before she is due: the accepted window closes around two months out, roughly 280 to 300 days into gestation, and individual carriers set stricter limits.
Do I have to do the paperwork myself?
Almost none of it. We handle the passport and microchip records, the veterinary work and blood tests, both export health certificates, the customs declarations and the border inspection, and we book the flight and the quarantine through our shipping agent. What is genuinely yours: an EORI number, which is free and takes minutes, and a customs broker in the United States for the entry and the tariff. In Canada there is one more, and it is the one that holds everything else up if it is late — the CFIA import permit has to be applied for by you as the importer, and our vet cannot sign the export certificate until it exists.
What is the biggest risk in importing a horse?
A piroplasmosis result that is not negative in US quarantine means refusal of entry with no retest. It is uncommon, and it is the reason we test before a horse ever leaves the yard. Beyond that the process is routine: the flight is well trodden, the paperwork is a known list, and horses travel it every week of the year.
Still easier with someone who has done it before
Harriet has sent horses to buyers across the United States, Canada, Europe and the Gulf. Ask her anything about the move, before you commit to a horse.
Message Harriet