A practical guide for horse owners moving to France
The Complete Practical Guide for Moving from Britain to France
From choosing the right location to registering your horses in France, this guide follows the complete journey. It brings together the property decisions, transport arrangements, export paperwork, moving your belongings and equipment, and preparing for the horses' arrival.
With over 100 pages and 12 printable planning resources, it helps you organise each stage, ask the right questions and plan your horses' first 30 days in their new home.
Purchase and download the PDF through Payhip.
What the guide covers
The guide follows the decisions in a practical order. It starts with finding somewhere that works for you and your horses, then takes you through the arrangements for moving and the steps that follow arrival.
Compare French regions by climate, grazing conditions, water, riding, competition facilities and access to equine services. The guide also helps you look carefully at the land, buildings and practical access when viewing a property.
Bring together the property purchase, horses' journey, household move, equipment and preparation costs. Work out what needs to happen before you can fix a travel date.
Compare transporters, discuss each horse's needs and ask about journey planning, loading, stops, border arrangements and who handles each part of the paperwork.
Understand the Great Britain export pathway, including horse identification, veterinary appointments, the appropriate export health certificate and supporting travel arrangements.
Consider household belongings, vehicles, trailers, tack and machinery alongside the horses' move. Use the guide's prompts to raise customs and freight questions with the right specialists.
Work through IFCE and SIRE registration, the administration connected with keeping horses in France, and when FFE or FEI registration may matter for riders who compete.
Plan unloading, fencing, water, forage, veterinary contacts and the first 30 days. The guide also includes practical French equestrian vocabulary and links to official resources.
The journey at a glance
The details depend on your horses and travel arrangements. These are the main stages the guide helps you plan, with worksheets to keep dates, documents, quotations and answers together.
Start early enough to check the requirements for each horse and coordinate appointments with your intended travel date.
A quotation is only part of the decision. The guide helps you compare the practical arrangements for the horses and the destination.
The administration continues after the horses reach France. Know which records and registrations to investigate and keep your arrival documents accessible.
A practical reference to return to
The property, budget, customs arrangements and horse transport affect one another. The guide helps you plan them together and identify what must be ready before the horses travel.
Use the prompts and checklists when speaking with agents, notaires, vets, transporters, customs professionals and other specialists. Record answers and spot gaps before key decisions.
The original guide draws on official UK, French and EU sources researched to September 2026. It identifies matters to check again, because requirements and individual circumstances can change.
Still searching for the right home? Rural Property Network is an advertising portal where you can browse rural and equestrian properties in France alongside your planning.
Start planning with the full guide
Get over 100 pages covering the property search, moving costs, customs questions, horse transport, French registrations and settling in, with 12 printable planning resources to use along the way.
£9.99 Buy the Guide on Payhip The secure Payhip purchase page opens in a new tab.Author and copyright: Written by Tilly-May Wilson. © 2026 Tilly-May Wilson. All rights reserved. Rural Property Network provides the supporting property-search website.
Information notice: The guide provides general information, with official information researched to September 2026. It does not replace legal, tax, customs, veterinary, immigration, financial, surveying or other professional advice. Rules and individual requirements can change. Check current requirements with the relevant authorities and qualified professionals before committing to a purchase, booking transport or moving goods or animals.
