It’s a buyers market for American’s looking to buy Canadian Horses and Stallion Services. With the Canadian dollar at record lows, this increases the purchasing power of the US dollar. If you aren’t already looking for a deal, now’s the time to start. Canada is home to many great breeding programs, stallions and reputable trainers. I’ve also noticed saddles to be a great buy for US buyers as many have not adjusted the used cost based on how much new price has increased. It’s worth investigating your savings as a US buyer.
At time of writing a 10,000 CDN dollar horse will cost just over $7250 US. That being said, the banks like to make a bit selling you the money. They will typically charge you 3 or 4 cents on every dollar you buy. In this example the bank will charge you a little more than $200 to sell you the money. For large sums of money, you may look to an outside source for exchanging funds. I used the website xe.com to get the rate. 
It is quite simple to move a Canadian horse into the United States and Canadian sellers are usually happy to help get the paper work handled. A negative Coggins (taken within 180 days of export) and International Health Certificate (within 30 days of export) will be required. This will require a farm visit from the vet to make sure the horse is living in healthy conditions. This paperwork should cost under $200 and the farm call fee from the vet depends how far your horse is from the vet, will be in addition. This is good insurance for the buyer as well, to know the horse is coming from a healthy horse family.
The coggins and health papers should be in the name of the seller and you should also have a bill of sale with those papers.
Once the paper work is in order, the seller paid and the horse on the road, the horse will need to be inspected by a Federal Vet at the US border. There are 8 ports in Western Canada that have a vet. It is important to call ahead and make arrangements within business hours to have your horses inspected. It is also important to call and make sure you have met the requirements for that port. Take the name of the person you were talking to and the time. You will present your paper work at the main gate and then proceed to the vet for inspection with your papers. There will be an inspection fee with the vet (currently $45 -$47 US).
If you are using a commercial hauler or a Canadian is hauling the horse across for you, they will require you to use a broker to facilitate your export paperwork. Here is a link to sample papers they will be filling out for you. If you are hauling the horse yourself (as a US citizen), you do not need a broker (only the Federal Vet inspection with Coggins, International Health and Bill of Sale).
Given current rates, you are looking at being able to take 25% off the advertised Canadian price!
Many
Canadians are also willing to meet you part way and handle getting the horse across the border for you. If the owner meets you at the border and you bring it accross into the USA, you do not need a broker. US citizens need a passport to come into Canada.
Shipping semen into the United States does not call for any special permits or paperwork, it is very straightforward.
One tricky part of the equation is that it isn’t that easy to transfer money from a US bank to a Canadian Bank. Using an online service like Paypal is an option, but be aware they will take 0.035% of your money to use the service, plus charge as much as the bank (or more) to exchange the currency. A seller will be reluctant to take a cheque as many banks will put a 30 day hold on the money. Another option is to send a bank draft/certified money to the buyer and cleared through the bank before the horse heads South. Cash always works too if you are meeting in person.
Here are numbers for ports in Western Canada so you can double check that you have all your ducks in a row before the horse steps on the trailer.
More information and links in this document on border regulations and transport we put together several years ago.
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