
1. The kiger mustang should be registered in a kiger registry. Chose registry wisely. Read and learn about their differences. Import costs are lower for a registered horse.
2. The kiger should have a verified pedigree back to freezebranded (wild) individuals. It can be hard to trace ancestors back once you have your horse in Europe. Decide if you want the parentage to be DNA verified or not (registries do this differently).
3. If you are about to buy a freezebranded individual, make sure you get all paperwork - including BLM-documents and Animal health & Identification record.
4. The transport costs are much more expensive than the horse itself. It might be a good idea to buy a mare and have her bred in good time prior to transport. Then, you get two for the price of one :-)
5. If you buy a kiger on the kiger adoption (October 2015), the horse must stay in the US for one year before it is allowed to leave the country. Many kiger breeders are very engaged and some of them love to help out with hosting and training your horse during this period.
6. Transport companies can assist with quarantine and transport all the way, from the US to your home. I have used Nedpoint (flight from Texas) and Mersant International (flight from California). Transport planes go to Amsterdam and the horse will travel with truck from there. Quarantine is one month in the US.
7. If you want to use your kiger in breeding, you should definitely read about color variations in kiger mustangs, what is desirable-and what’s not? And what’s important for you? Grey kigers have previously been mistaken for beeing “claybank”. True claybank is red dun with the crème gene - and these are rare.
8. The term “found” kiger is widely discussed. It means that the horse itself or its ancestors trace back to other HMA’s than Kiger or Riddle Mountain. These horses were chosen upon their kiger-like characteristics by BLM and added to the herds or breeders to increase the genetic diveristy of the breed. Make a decision whether this is important for you or not.
9. If you have the opportunity - go to the US and look for your perfect kiger mustang - or let someone you trust do this for you.
10. Ask questions! Kiger owners are in general very helpful. They love to share their knowledge about the breed. Learn all you can before you buy your kiger. Once you have your horse in Europe- no one will ever pay for a ticket back :-)
2. The kiger should have a verified pedigree back to freezebranded (wild) individuals. It can be hard to trace ancestors back once you have your horse in Europe. Decide if you want the parentage to be DNA verified or not (registries do this differently).
3. If you are about to buy a freezebranded individual, make sure you get all paperwork - including BLM-documents and Animal health & Identification record.
4. The transport costs are much more expensive than the horse itself. It might be a good idea to buy a mare and have her bred in good time prior to transport. Then, you get two for the price of one :-)
5. If you buy a kiger on the kiger adoption (October 2015), the horse must stay in the US for one year before it is allowed to leave the country. Many kiger breeders are very engaged and some of them love to help out with hosting and training your horse during this period.
6. Transport companies can assist with quarantine and transport all the way, from the US to your home. I have used Nedpoint (flight from Texas) and Mersant International (flight from California). Transport planes go to Amsterdam and the horse will travel with truck from there. Quarantine is one month in the US.
7. If you want to use your kiger in breeding, you should definitely read about color variations in kiger mustangs, what is desirable-and what’s not? And what’s important for you? Grey kigers have previously been mistaken for beeing “claybank”. True claybank is red dun with the crème gene - and these are rare.
8. The term “found” kiger is widely discussed. It means that the horse itself or its ancestors trace back to other HMA’s than Kiger or Riddle Mountain. These horses were chosen upon their kiger-like characteristics by BLM and added to the herds or breeders to increase the genetic diveristy of the breed. Make a decision whether this is important for you or not.
9. If you have the opportunity - go to the US and look for your perfect kiger mustang - or let someone you trust do this for you.
10. Ask questions! Kiger owners are in general very helpful. They love to share their knowledge about the breed. Learn all you can before you buy your kiger. Once you have your horse in Europe- no one will ever pay for a ticket back :-)