The most common questions asked by our American buyers are what is required to get horses across the Canadian/US border and what costs are involved. For your convenience we have listed what is required.

Current Health Regulations and Expenses to Cross the Border

All horse being exported to the US must have a recent Coggins (within 6 months - 180 days). They need an international health certificate drawn up by a local vet and stamped approval by a federal vet. Approximate cost would be $110. This usually takes approximately a week to get the paperwork ready.

From there, the US Customs requires a broker to clear the horses for entry into the US . When the horse passes through the border it must then be taken to the US Federal Vet. The Federal Vet inspects the paperwork to make sure that it is legitimate and inspects the horse to make sure that it is indeed the right horse and that it is healthy. The closest point of entry to us, is Port Huron , Michigan . The Federal Vet there is about 5 or 10 miles down the road from there on Highway 69.  We can also meet you in Lewiston, New York (right by Niagara Falls) at the Federal Vets there about 2 miles from the Canadian Border.

The fees involved to actually get your horse across the border are $100 for broker’s entry fee, $2.50 per $1000 per price of the horse, $5.50 border protection fee, $3 per horse pen fee and $29 per horse US Border Vet fee. For one horse valued at $5000 this would work out to $150 border fees. There is the $110 to get your health papers ready, the $150 for the border fees, $50 to file an Electronic Manifest for the border and $140 for us to haul your horse across the border making a total of $450 (Canadian). This leaves your horse standing on the US side of the border with all costs taken care of.  

The health papers and brokerage fees are the buyer’s expenses. However, we will do the foot work and and get this paperwork looked after for you.

Trucking

Trucking is the buyer’s responsibility and has nothing to do with the price of the horse. However, we will try to help arrange trucking if you need it. We have Canadian truckers that will haul your horses for you that are experienced crossing the border. We are not in the trucking business but sometimes we have occasion to be in the US with our truck and trailer, and it is possible that we could meet you at a point that is convenient to both parties.

We understand that a first trip can be difficult for an individual or an American trucker not experienced with border crossing. Anyone hauling horses across the border needs a Standard Carrier Alpha Code (SCAC) and Pre-Arrival Processing System number (PAPS). It is not practical for most individuals to get all these numbers for a single entry. The Canadian truckers that are hauling horses regularly across the border have these numbers and stickers so it is not a hardship for them to take these horses across. Northstar Livestock has the PAPS numbers, SCAC numbers, Importer numbers, Exporter number, and GST numbers so we are equipped to get your horse over the border for you. We can do the paperwork involved, and haul your horses to the US side of the border to make things easier for you. This is a distance of about 160 miles for us to travel and for this we charge roughly $140 for the price of fuel, etc.

Trucking costs seem to be the biggest deterrent on horse sales to the United States. With the recent price increases in fuel, truckers have to charge accordingly. Most of these truckers are very fair but they still have to make a living as well. Most will drop their prices per horse if they can arrange for more horses to be going your way. Also keep in mind that they have to get home again. These fellas can’t charge the same amounts that your buddy would charge who’s doing this for gas only and to see the sights and because he is your friend. It has to make sense for a trucker economically.

To get an idea of distance – a good idea is to check out www.mapquest.com to give you the number of miles from us to your area. Our town to figure from is Port Elgin, ON. This will give you something to go by. However, it would probably be more practical to figure from Port Huron , Michigan or Lewiston, New York and have us haul it to the Veterinarian inspection station there or have a Canadian trucker haul it through there on down to your final destination.

Pricing

All our horses are priced in Canadian dollars. Prices on our horses are firm. If a person is buying more than one horse from us we will take off $200 per horse. We price our horses fairly and at what we have to have for them and the price is the same for all our customers. We do not favor one customer over another.

Payment

We do not accept American cheques as these cheques take three or four weeks and often longer to clear a Canadian bank. This would very likely have it that the horse would leave the country before the cheque cleared the bank. Money Orders and Drafts work in much the same way. Horses have to be paid in full before leaving our premises. The best way is to wire the money to our account. We will give you our bank information if you wish to go ahead and purchase a horse or horses. We sell many horses to the US and have found that this way works the best.

We do not consider horses sold until they are paid for. No one has prior claim to a horse and the first one that pays for him owns him. Keep in mind that we have no recourse on these horses once they leave Canada .

General Sales Tax (GST)

There is a General Sales Tax in Canada (6% - this will be changed to 5% after January 1, 2008) that applies to horses sold in Canada . However, this does not apply if the horse is taken possession of on the US side of the border.

Exchange Rates

All our horses are priced in Canadian dollars.  Exchange rates vary up and down, of course from day to day. When you transfer funds your bank can tell you what the exchange rate is on that particular day.   

We would like you to know that we value our American customers. We appreciate your business.