Exporting a Horse

If you want to export a horse, you need to comply

with international health requirements. The procedures required are fairly straightforward and easy to

follow, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture

(USDA) will help you through all the steps.

The requirements, enforced by USDA’s

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS),

apply to any horse leaving this country, regardless of

the type of horse involved or the purpose for exporting it. The procedures protect your horse, ease its

journey, reassure your contacts overseas, and promote the general health of equine enterprises worldwide.

Exporting With Confidence

Some procedures for exporting a horse are

required by Federal regulations to assure foreign 

contacts that American animals being shipped overseas are healthy. If foreigners have confidence in

the health of U.S. horses, this country’s involvement

in equestrian affairs overseas will increase, thus

strengthening the U.S. export market.

Other export procedures are specifically 

prescribed by the importing country to protect that

country’s animal health. Foreign veterinary officials

are particularly concerned about diseases such as

equine arteritis, equine infectious anemia, and 

eastern and western equine encephalitis. These 

diseases occur in the United States but not in many

of the countries to which U.S. horses are exported.

Start planning early. There are several steps

that you need to take to ensure compliance with

health requirements. To avoid a hectic timeline or 

last-minute delays, allow 2 to 3 months from the start

of the export process to the time your horse steps on

the gangplank. In addition, proper planning allows

you to consider what to do if the horse you want to

export fails to meet international requirements. You

may decide to wait until its health problems have

cleared up, or you may be able to substitute another

horse.

Going Through the Paces

Three different officials will help you facilitate

the process of exporting your horse. You will need to 

initiate contact with each one.

• A private-practice veterinarian accredited by 

APHIS will examine the health of your horse 

and complete the required tests and 

certifications.

• The APHIS veterinarian-in-charge for your 

State or area will verify and endorse the heath 

documentation.

• An APHIS port veterinarian at the port of 

export you intend to use will make the final 

examinations and arrangements that authorize 

your horse to be loaded for shipment.

The actual steps for the health certification are as

follows:

1. You call each of the above officials to alert the

to your plans.

2. The accredited veterinarian contacts the 

appropriate APHIS veterinarian-in-charge to

obtain the exact requirements for the country to

which your horse is traveling.

3. The accredited veterinarian conducts the initial

health examination, forwards the required 

specimens for laboratory tests, and prepares the

international health certificate.

4. The APHIS veterinarian-in-charge receives

results of the laboratory tests, reviews the health

certificate, and endorses it along with the othe

papers that move with your horse.

5. You can then move your horse to the port where

you made the arrangements for export.

Regulations require that your horse must

receive at least 5 hours of rest at the port before it is

loaded. During that time, the APHIS port veterinarian

examines your horse and checks its papers to assure

compliance with all requirements.

If all is in order, your horse is on its way.

Additional Information

Because the animal health status of countries does not remain static, requirements and certification procedures for exporting animals are subject

to change. For the most current information on

export requirements, contact the APHIS veterinarianin-charge for your State. Address and telephone 

numbers for APHIS veterinarians-in-charge can be

obtained by calling (301) 734-8364 or via the Internet

at www.aphis.usda.gov/vs/area_offices.htm

Factsheet

 

 
 

APHIS
United States Department of Agriculture • Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service • Safeguarding American Agriculture

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination

in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national

origin, sex, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, or marital or family status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to

all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative

means for communication of program information (Braille, large

print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA’s TARGET Center at

(202) 720–2600 (voice and TDD).

To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office of

Civil Rights, Room 326–W, Whitten Building, 1400 Independence

Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250–9410 or call (202) 720–5964

(voice and TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and

employer.