"People have been importing and exporting horses for years, but in the last decade, there has been an increase in the movement of horses," says Mike Short, DVM, equine programs manager for the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services' Division of Animal Industry. "The world has gotten a lot smaller.

"When I got out of veterinary school in 1998, the value of a horse was about the amount you could win over the lifetime of that horse, but that valuation has changed," Short adds. "When the economy boomed, people starting bidding up horses. The value of a horse has gone way above what the horse can earn. Now, it's more like (purchasing) art–I have the money, and I want the best I can buy