Horse passport, advice needed!

ClarkeKent

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Hi, I'm new here and desperately need some advice please as I dont no where else to go to find it!

I have a horse who was given to me a couple of years ago as a rescue due to the nature of the work I did at the time (horse rescue centre). When he came to me the woman who owned him gave me a letter to transfer ownership over to me. She had misplaced his passport and said she would try and find it. She had no interest whatsoever in him leaving and really just wanted him gone. The transfer and removal needed to happen quickly as the yard was shutting down and he would have nowhere to go as the ladies who had kindly looked after him due to owners neglect were moving on. I pushed and pushed for passport, eventually almost 12 months later she said she couldnt find it and did not think the owners name had been changed from the previous owner (who I also know, through the nature of my previous job, and am sort of in contact with). I contacted DEFRA to find out what I needed to do to get a replacement (at this stage I did not know that the last owner hadnt had the passport changed into her name) and aside from them telling me off they werent at all helpful and just said I would need to track down the PIO. This I did via the previous owner to the last owner, I contacted PIO who said it would be difficult to find passport with limited details etc but if I sent in photos of my horse and the cost of replacement they would track it down and issue me with a new one with all up to date information (to include previous owners name and address). This I did and have not heard back from them since. I have tried to get in contact with them but had no luck tracking down the particular woman I spoke to and no-one else in office seems to have a clue! Its all very weird and seeing as I sent cash in post (stupid I know, but did so on her recommendation that it could be fast tracked!) I'm feeling I've been fleeced and left with no paperwork! I'm in absolute panic, I cant get him insured as you need the passport number and with the recent horsemeat scandal I'm panicing in case he should need the vet. What do I do, how can I track his passport down?? Can he be given a new passport (I fear the answer to that is no!). I still have letter from previous owner transferring ownership to myself and plenty of witnesses (owner of rescue centre, people involved in transfer etc) as evidence that this horse is mine. But I need to get him insured and have all the documentation, I'm having real sleepless nights over this and need it sorting ASAP! Any help at all would be massively appreciated!! Thanks in advance.
 
Sadly you'll probably just have to pay the PIO again for the replacement - probably the cash was stolen in the post. Send a cheque this time and recorded delivery.
 
Sadly you'll probably just have to pay the PIO again for the replacement - probably the cash was stolen in the post. Send a cheque this time and recorded delivery.

I have no problem with that or with paying again, my concern is that the last time round when I spoke to PIO the woman I spoke to had said it was complicated to trace passport especially due to the time that had elapsed between the previous to last owner selling him to the last owner and her then passing him on to me. Essentially the old passport is probably 6 years out of date! And now I'm concerned if I cant get hold of the original lady I spoke to at PIO, who was particularly understanding of the situation and was trying her best to accomodate, coupled with the current horsemeat scandal issue that they may refuse to issue a replacement at all! Can they do this?? Is this a problem that comes up alot with horses?? Is it easy to resolve?? I'm so worried!
 
Can your vet not do a new passport for you? Ours charges £50.00 for this.

I dont know, I thought once a horse had been passported the only one you could get was a replacement for that one :confused: is it possible to get a new passport and how would I go about organising this?? Thanks!
 
Girl on my yard had same situation as you more or less, local riding school was closing down and horses were being given away....all passports were lost or never issued in first place! You have to get the vet out and they will do the id and issue a new one for you.
 
Are you absolutely sure the horse orginally had a passport and the old owner is not spinning you a line?
 
The original PIO can and should be able to issue a replacement - speak to anyone at the PIO and explain the situation - it's illegal to sell a horse without a passport but not illegal to buy one so you're not in the wrong.
Just give them a call on Monday morning and send them a cheque - it's not a big deal so don't worry. All they will do is write to the last registered owner (even if that was 6 years ago) to confirm they no longer own the horse - so it might not be desportately quick. If the old owner doesn't reply within a certain timeframe they just issue you with the passport anyway.

You can get a vet to issue a new passport, they'll re microchip and with that can call out it'll cost more than the replacement - but it is illegal for you to get two passports for the same horse and as the PIO will have your details somewhere they will know that you know he already has one. Not what I would recommend.
 
Girl on my yard had same situation as you more or less, local riding school was closing down and horses were being given away....all passports were lost or never issued in first place! You have to get the vet out and they will do the id and issue a new one for you.

Right ok, will look into that. Hes also microchipped (the previous owner to the last owner seems to believe anyway) so if the vet scans him and it comes up with previous passport details will vet still be able to issue a totally new passport?? Was the girl at your yards horse ever passported previously and were they microchipped before the new passport was issued? Sorry for so many questions!!
 
Are you absolutely sure the horse orginally had a passport and the old owner is not spinning you a line?

I'm certain that he had a passport, yes. The previous to last owner has confirmed this and she passed this on the last owner. The last owner was not at all organised where paperwork was concerned (so her friends from the yard my horse came from have told me) so I do believe that she didnt change the name on the passport and has long since lost it. I have some info from the previous to last owner regarding freezemarking and micro-chipping but nothing particularly relevant, precise or valid, just names of companies used to do it.
 
The original PIO can and should be able to issue a replacement - speak to anyone at the PIO and explain the situation - it's illegal to sell a horse without a passport but not illegal to buy one so you're not in the wrong.
Just give them a call on Monday morning and send them a cheque - it's not a big deal so don't worry. All they will do is write to the last registered owner (even if that was 6 years ago) to confirm they no longer own the horse - so it might not be desportately quick. If the old owner doesn't reply within a certain timeframe they just issue you with the passport anyway.

You can get a vet to issue a new passport, they'll re microchip and with that can call out it'll cost more than the replacement - but it is illegal for you to get two passports for the same horse and as the PIO will have your details somewhere they will know that you know he already has one. Not what I would recommend.

I didnt think you could get a 'second' passport nor a 'second' microchip, so essentially I need to get a replacement for the one that has been lost? And will the PIO process that even given the time frame and issues etc? Its all been such a nightmare! I just want his passport and want him insured before I go any greyer!!
 
No they probably won't microchip again. The horse on our yard hadn't been chipped before but had had a old passport. I would call them anyway to see what they advise
 
Hi, I'm new here and desperately need some advice please as I dont no where else to go to find it!

I have a horse who was given to me a couple of years ago as a rescue due to the nature of the work I did at the time (horse rescue centre). When he came to me the woman who owned him gave me a letter to transfer ownership over to me. She had misplaced his passport and said she would try and find it. She had no interest whatsoever in him leaving and really just wanted him gone. The transfer and removal needed to happen quickly as the yard was shutting down and he would have nowhere to go as the ladies who had kindly looked after him due to owners neglect were moving on. I pushed and pushed for passport, eventually almost 12 months later she said she couldnt find it and did not think the owners name had been changed from the previous owner (who I also know, through the nature of my previous job, and am sort of in contact with). I contacted DEFRA to find out what I needed to do to get a replacement (at this stage I did not know that the last owner hadnt had the passport changed into her name) and aside from them telling me off they werent at all helpful and just said I would need to track down the PIO. This I did via the previous owner to the last owner, I contacted PIO who said it would be difficult to find passport with limited details etc but if I sent in photos of my horse and the cost of replacement they would track it down and issue me with a new one with all up to date information (to include previous owners name and address). This I did and have not heard back from them since. I have tried to get in contact with them but had no luck tracking down the particular woman I spoke to and no-one else in office seems to have a clue! Its all very weird and seeing as I sent cash in post (stupid I know, but did so on her recommendation that it could be fast tracked!) I'm feeling I've been fleeced and left with no paperwork! I'm in absolute panic, I cant get him insured as you need the passport number and with the recent horsemeat scandal I'm panicing in case he should need the vet. What do I do, how can I track his passport down?? Can he be given a new passport (I fear the answer to that is no!). I still have letter from previous owner transferring ownership to myself and plenty of witnesses (owner of rescue centre, people involved in transfer etc) as evidence that this horse is mine. But I need to get him insured and have all the documentation, I'm having real sleepless nights over this and need it sorting ASAP! Any help at all would be massively appreciated!! Thanks in advance.

You didn't mention he was already microchipped so this does change things. I would chase up the issuer of the old passport, they will contact to old owner and give them 30 days to respond before issuing a new one. Bit naughty of them not to speak to you after you've already paid etc etc though.
 
You didn't mention he was already microchipped so this does change things. I would chase up the issuer of the old passport, they will contact to old owner and give them 30 days to respond before issuing a new one. Bit naughty of them not to speak to you after you've already paid etc etc though.

So essentially all the PIO has to do is contact last registered owner to confirm that he no longer belongs to them? I had no idea what their process was so was tying myself up in knots over it!! Its not good that I've 'lost' the cash that I sent however it is possible that the letter was lost in the post or stolen. Thanks for your advice. If anyone else has anything to add please do! :-)
 
You could ask the PIO for the passport number so you can give that to the insurance company now and get him insured without having to wait for the actual paperwork to come through.
 
You could ask the PIO for the passport number so you can give that to the insurance company now and get him insured without having to wait for the actual paperwork to come through.

Would they do that Polos Mum before verifying he no longer belongs to last registered owner?

And on that subject, what if the last registered owner was to try and pull a fast one and say that he does still belong to her, what would happen then? I know I'm probably over thinking things but I'm so worried about illness, injury, insurance, losing him, getting fined!! Aaaargh! I just want everything in its place so I no longer have to worry and can enjoy him completely!
 
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