Helping You Understand the Import and Quarantine Process
How does my horse come to me from Europe?
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Once the customer has let Gypsy MVP know of their intention to purchase one of their special horses, then the customer should call MVP Representative Erica Barton for wire transfer instructions.
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MVP Personnel will set up a vetting appointment for your new horse with a European veterinarian. This vet check is a standard that includes pre-import screening for EIA (coggins test), dourine, piroplasmosis, and glanders. If your horse is a stallion or mare over 731 days old, the vet check will also include testing for CEM (contagious equine metritis) Blood tests and CEM cultures will normally take 10-12 days for completion, negative tests for all relevant tests are required for shipping to the USA. If a client would like a more detailed veterinary examination including x-rays etc, this will be additional and at client’s expense.
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Once the results come in negative (as certified by the veterinarian) your horse will be flown typically via KLM Royal Dutch Airlines from Amsterdam non-stop to either JFK airport in New York or LAX airport in Los Angeles.
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Once your horse arrives blood samples are taken at the airport and your horse is taken to a USDA Quarantine facility, if it is a gelding, or a filly or colt under 731 days of age, the quarantine period will normally be 2-3 days, as soon as blood tests are reported negative the horse is free to proceed to your stable (Transportation is at the customers cost and may be done using our transporter or your own.)
If your horse is a stallion or mare over 731 days of age, an additional quarantine is required. In either case, your horse must leave the USDA quarantine and proceed to an approved CEM quarantine. There are several different CEM quarantine farms that we recommend, the choice of which particular quarantine we use will be determined in large part as to the horse’s ultimate destination.
In the case of a mare, the CEM quarantine will normally last for 14-18 days and as soon as all tests declared negative she will be free to depart for your stables.
The CEM quarantine period for a stallion is much longer, averaging 45 days; during his CEM quarantine he will be tested and he will also cover two mares who are also then tested for CEM, this to be sure that he is not ‘shedding’ the CEM organism in his semen. Once stallion and mares are tested negative he is free to depart for your stables.
Understand that Gypsy MVP is a turn-key company. We pay normal vetting, plane flight, and quarantine process charges that your animal may need to go through to arrive in the United States.
CEM (contagious equine metritis) is an equine sexually transmitted disease that is very unusual, but is not life threatening, and can be cured.
