Requirements For Bringing Horse Home From TEXAS

[LLS]

I am headed down to ride for a couple weeks and I know there are certain requirements to come back across the border due to Equine Piroplasmosis? Can someone tell me what I need to have done to come back within 30 days of crossing the Canada/US border. Approx. vet costs, timeline for results, and headache to get my horse back here..... Is it a big deal or am I worried for nothing? Thanks!

[miss_brook]

I can't stress this enough....you need to contact the port of entry you are crossing through and ask them what their requirements are. I work for Customs myself and have heard lots of different stories on what people have had to do to bring horses back versus what we do at my crossing. Reason being is because different ports have different requirments depending on whether or not they have federal vets on staff or not. Another suggestion is to just contact the federal vet at the Coutts crossing in Alberta and they will tell you exactly what you need to do as well.
Thanks!

[LLS]

Yes, thanks. I am aware of standard protocol for crossing the border with horses, but I believe I heard something about extra blood work and such from horses coming from Texas or New Mexico. I am returning in BC and not the Coutts border, so I will phone and check to see if I can come back with the horses from Texas at those crossings. I was just curious what the other requirements are to bring a horse out of those areas and the cost of vet work and other paperwork besides the standard vet certificates, coggins, brand inspection, etc. I already have all that in order, it's just coming back from Texas I'm unsure about. I don't even know if I DO need anything different than a horse coming from any other state. Thanks.

[miss_brook]

Oh for sure you will need to contact a Federal Vet then....they can tell you exactly what you need to do. Like I said before, I would make sure you cross at a port where there will be a federal vet on site during business hours and speak to that vet directly before you come back so there will be no discrepancies or surprises once you arrive.
There will be lots of people telling you lots of different things from different experiences on crossing, but to cover your butt....my best advice is to speak directly to the "horse's mouth" at the CDN crossing.

[Carmen]

I go to college in New Mexico and can tell you that it is not by any means easy to get your horses back The Piro. makes things really difficult, at least for us heading back to Alberta it did. With the Piro. you have to get blood taken, and be back across the border within 15 days (I believe this is the right number) from WHEN THE BLOOD WAS TAKEN. After the blood is taken the vets have to send the blood off to a couple different places, I believe to the federal vet, but this may be wrong, either way they blood is sent away. When I had this done, we recieved the paperwork back, giving us five days to get to the border. With this, we had to be to the border on a week day, as the vet is not in on the weekends. Contact the vet at the crossing you plan on passing through. It helps a lot to stay in touch with the vet!
Good Luck!!

[larsonfarm]

This is an excellent site.
http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/imp/airse.shtml#
(Referred to me by an agent at CFIA).
Piro still is in effect for Texas and New Mexico and Carmen was right, you have a fifteen day window in which to draw the blood, get results back and be across the border. You have to obtain an import permit from CFIA and have the original in hand for the border vet. It's important to work closly with the State and Border vet. I even faxed a copy of the requirements (from the above website) to our vet in NM.
Good Luck and happy travels.

Linda

[Sayward]

LLS not sure if you found the information you needed but I did this in the spring so if you have any questions or need some info feel free to pm me.

Sayward

[sleeper]

Just brought a horse back from Texas last week, and the previous post by Linda is absolutely correct for the Coutts crossing (and if you can get accross there, anywhere else should be easy). As per usual you need your health papers, coggins test, bill of sale (if purchased in U.S,. but doesn't hurt to have if purchased in Canada to prove that it wasn't a U.S. purchase), copy of the registration papers if you have them (not a requirement but have found it is something they do like to see), and if someone is hauling for your a letter of authorization (provides authorization for them to haul your horse, make decisions regarding your horse and if required pay the GST on the horse - also needs to say what the horse is to be used for). Coming out of Texas or New Mexico, you need the Piro blood work completed within 15 days of crossing the border and you also need an CFIA import permit (original). We had to fax down a copy of the import permit to the federal vet in the U.S. but kept the original so it would be with the horse when it crossed the border. In our case, our local CFIA office was adamant we didn't need the import permit but at our insistance completed it; thankfully as it was needed. Make sure your import permit matches the rest of your paperwork to a 'T'. The vet at the border will want to look at your horse but in our case didn't care to look at the paperwork or horses that were not from Texas, only the Texas one. (so if you are hauling more than one, put the ones from Texas/New Mexico at the back). The CFIA documentation is $35 per horse and the bloodwork and U.S health papers cost us approx. $150. Hope this helps

[LLS]

Thanks for all the responses. I have decided to board on the US side of the border and get a new health certificate. A lot of trouble for a horse who only stayed in Texas for 5 days. Unfortunately, I wasn't thinking and my health certs say his destination was Texas leaving from Red Deer. I should have put the destination for elsewhere and saved myself this trouble! Lesson learned.