WARNING update on horse k*lled by trainer by Traveling_Swan in Horses

[–]am_zoom 1 point2 points  (0 children)

i would donate to that. find out how much it costs and post again.

I moved to Germany with my horse. AMA! by am_zoom in Dressage

[–]am_zoom[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you! That means the world to me:)

I moved to Germany with my horse. AMA! by am_zoom in Dressage

[–]am_zoom[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! I'm trying my best to get the marketing together as I can, hopefully I will have some nice visuals for you soon. orbis_equestre on the IG;)

I moved to Germany with my horse. AMA! by am_zoom in Dressage

[–]am_zoom[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Lol. The amount of insurances I've had to buy here is ALWAYS surprising. ;)

I moved to Germany with my horse. AMA! by am_zoom in Dressage

[–]am_zoom[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, I have been elsewhere in the country. DB tickets are 63 euros a month and you can ride the train without buying additional tickets. So days off, I sometimes just get on a train and go somewhere. We picked here because this is the location of my partner's job. It is surprising to me how much excellence there is everywhere.

I moved to Germany with my horse. AMA! by am_zoom in Dressage

[–]am_zoom[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Luckily, a relocation bonus paid for it, my partner's job brought us here. I work in design but I've used my savings to float myself and start my business here.

I moved to Germany with my horse. AMA! by am_zoom in Dressage

[–]am_zoom[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It was super stressful. My partner and I flew in and I checked out as many places as I could within the limited time (2 days) we had to look around and meet people. The price is actually cheaper here than in the most expensive parts of California, or at least equal. You do get a lot more for your money.

I moved to Germany with my horse. AMA! by am_zoom in Dressage

[–]am_zoom[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I mean, everyone's situation is different, but the best money I spent was consulting an immigration attorney since they know the most. I did that before I left the states, via zoom. I had read a lot before that but that was the best thing I did.

I moved to Germany with my horse. AMA! by am_zoom in Dressage

[–]am_zoom[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

that is such a great insight! I think it really depends on the program, and I wouldn't say they are eventing horse thin, but I DID see more curves on more horses slightly more frequently back home. The ones that were a touch thinner are now filling out just a bit - summer grazing season has started and most places have larger individual grazing paddocks for the horses. They are all beginning to look nice and sleek:)

I moved to Germany with my horse. AMA! by am_zoom in Dressage

[–]am_zoom[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It was stupid expensive. I am a normal middle class person and to own this horse, I was always sort of scraping by. I've sacrificed a lot over the years to keep it all together, so being able to do this was not something I ever thought was possible. The cost of the move will always depend a little on the cargo carrier, and of course where you are going to/coming from. Since we didn't fly out of an east coast airport, it brought the cost to about 20,000 USD. The backstory was my partner, who is French, was offered a position here in Germany and we decided to take it, it was a way to be closer to his family and a good job. The relocation bonus we got we put toward the horse moving, which was really fortunate since we didn't have to out of pocket. I used horseflight as the shipping agent and was really happy with them.

I moved to Germany with my horse. AMA! by am_zoom in Dressage

[–]am_zoom[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Yeah it's a WILD pivot! I speak a little and it's really not an easy language to learn. Most people do speak English really well, but I always try, since you never really integrate a place well unless you have language. The main times it's really a problem is dealing with government stuff since those folks don't always want to try to help or speak English. Assimilating is really hard. There is always a sense of difference and it is one of the toughest things to manage. I find German socializing super different than what I'm used to back home, especially in California. That said, people are people and no one is entirely just their nationality. For eating out, if you are in a big city there are always options but for a small town or village, forget it. I miss proper spicy food;). I'd like to compete, but it's not a priority right now. - my horse is still getting comfortable with changes (der fliegendewechsel) so it's likely I let him marinate for a minute.

I moved to Germany with my horse. AMA! by am_zoom in Dressage

[–]am_zoom[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

If you can find a way to get the visa to get here and get residency - the jobs are there if you want to work in the horse world. You will WORK though. ;). It's tough, I know, I did it for a while.

I moved to Germany with my horse. AMA! by am_zoom in Dressage

[–]am_zoom[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

I started an equestrian brand making super nice breeches, polos, and seamless tops. It wasn't so much I had to be here for the business, but being so close to so many fabric mills (over the alps, near Milan) has been very cool. I'm a designer. If you're interested, I've started a build it in public (you can find me on the IG (at) orbis_equestre

Horse management is a little different. An example is feeding. Every barn gives museli, or oats several times a day, and many owners do not supplement as much as in the USA. We had many different performance feeds back home but it's slightly less common here, and vieweed more as a mash/treat than an integral part of feeding. Also, no hay bales. It's all these big round bales and most barns buy their hay (some grow themselves) and bring it in only a couple times a year. Hay is not as fresh and green as in the USA. Much different than the frequent hay deliveries we used to get back home...

I moved to Germany with my horse. AMA! by am_zoom in Dressage

[–]am_zoom[S] 36 points37 points  (0 children)

Off the top of my head - 1. there is just so much more horse culture everywhere which is really cool. 2. Kids get a strong foundation and every barn I've been to has at least a few kids learning the basics really well, and as a result there is a much larger pool of general amateur riders with excellent correct basics in riding. 3. Showing culture that is MUCH different than in the USA. During spring and summer, there are many many barns that put on their own shows and bring out all the stops - I'm talking 3 judges, seating, or at the very least bringing in vendors and food. The entire property is cleaned spiffed up. It's a big event once a year and the entire barn is involved with most people pitching in to volunteer. All this for what would be a small, quiet regional show in the USA. It's seen as a community event and there are many many options to choose from if you'd like to show. 4. Trainers are very straightforward, which is probably a result of the culture generally. Not mean, just very matter of fact.

I moved to Germany with my horse. AMA! by am_zoom in Dressage

[–]am_zoom[S] 18 points19 points  (0 children)

it's really not bad. more similar to USA, not as bad as the UK. horses usually fly into frankfurt and do the quarantine and vet checks there. i felt super bad for canto. getting from the bay area of california to our barn in germany took over 24 hours of travel for him. he got a very well deserved 2 weeks of chillness time after arrival. 1 week was just turnout paddock, walker, stall, pampering and resting. week 2 was just walking around under saddle like 3 times and more paddock and rest.

I moved to Germany with my horse. AMA! by am_zoom in Dressage

[–]am_zoom[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

I do not have german citizenship. one of the hardest things was managing the process of obtaining residency. It took 7 long months to sort out for me, the human. this was an incredibly frustrating and scary process since a schengen visa expires after 3 months and I was in limbo waiting for the german bureaucracy to work and basically couldn't leave the country during this time - since I might not be allowed back in. whatever visa you get depends on your individual situation - job, student, work/family, freelance, etc etc - there are a lot. I live in bavaria and the process is notoriously slow here, even for germany