horse passport agency, help? Passport mockery :<

NeverSayNever

NeverSayNever

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i am in the process of buying a mini shetland that i have on lwvtb from a friend. Said friend hadnt had her very long and she had been loan to a RS. I have done some digging to try and find out the pony's history. Her passport was issued only a year ago and has a specific date of birth on it, making the pony 8 years old. I have found out that the origins of the pony were unknown as the story goes she was dumped in a field originally. Put together 2 + 2 here re the dob ;)

Anyway, my vet - who is an experienced equine vet who specialises in dentistry and is on the board for licensing of RS's has drawn me up a certificate stating that it is clear from her teeth that she is 4 years old at the most. My vet is keen to get her passport changed as it appears she was backed and ridden at 2 and as I said, was in a RS being used as leadrein at rising 3.

The passport was issued by TheHorsePAssportAgency and she is also microchipped. I spoke to them this morning and all they are interested in me doing is changing the ownership - which I can do online (which appalls me as I could do this with no knowledge of the owner!) and they are not interested in amending the details or seeing the certificate from my vet.

Ive come to the conclusion the whole flippin set up is worthless! Is there anything I can do? It seems to make a mockery of the whole thing
 
I have had an infraction from saying what I thought of them but it doesn't change my views! For anyone wanting to bend the rules they are a Godsend. How can any passport company be absolutely sure they have the correct details when it can be done online by anyone without checks being made, they never even check the passport, it's a joke.

But sorry, if filly is chipped and passported with them, that's the one you have to abide by. Perhaps your vet would write something into the passport to note the alterations perhaps with something sharp on it to the effect that the 'officials' don't want to amend it correctly themselves but in the interest of the horse it is only fair to do so.
 
Maesfen said:
I have had an infraction from saying what I thought of them but it doesn't change my views! For anyone wanting to bend the rules they are a Godsend. How can any passport company be absolutely sure they have the correct details when it can be done online by anyone without checks being made, they never even check the passport, it's a joke.
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thank you, not just me then:rolleyes:
 
You have to stick with the original POI unless the passport has been lost, then you can apply for a new one from someone more efficient like the BHS... I'm sure it must be fairly easy to lose a passport in the bin....
 
LittleBlackMule said:
You have to stick with the original POI unless the passport has been lost, then you can apply for a new one from someone more efficient like the BHS... I'm sure it must be fairly easy to lose a passport in the bin....
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isnt that illegal though, and given the pony is microchipped already surely if someone tried to do this it would be traced back via NED to the issuing agency?
 
LittleBlackMule said:
People have lost passports in house moves etc, no big deal.
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yeh i get what you are saying - but let say for sake of argument the passport did get lost. Id have to get a vet out to issue a new one, they would scan her, find out she is chipped and that chip would be registered with the original passport agency , Im sure no vet would issue a brand new passport, theyd surely contact the agency to issue a duplicate?
 
Aah, but microchips aren't issued by passport issuers, they are supplied by a separate company ie. Petlog or Identichip and the details logged with them, so it doesn't matter who does the passport.
 
LittleBlackMule said:
Aah, but microchips aren't issued by passport issuers, they are supplied by a separate company ie. Petlog or Identichip and the details logged with them, so it doesn't matter who does the passport.
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yes, but surely any vet on scanning the pony and discovering she is chipped would search the chip number, which is linked to her passport and know she already has a passport issued, i cant see how they would agree to issue a new one. sorry if im missing something here.

interestingly, her microchip number is printed on her passport and the 2 are linked in NED. However when I contacted the microchip company they claim the chip was never registered!
 
LittleBlackMule said:
Aah, but microchips aren't issued by passport issuers, they are supplied by a separate company ie. Petlog or Identichip and the details logged with them, so it doesn't matter who does the passport.
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Sorry I think you could be wrong there.

Yes, I agree if Petlog or whoever provide the chip they don't have anything themselves to do with the passport but that chip number is pasted into the passport/on the form to apply for one so it is directly linked to that horse and will be marked as such on any database. Therefore if filly is chipped which was already included in her passport that number will always be associated with her and whoever issued the passport. Hope that makes sense.
 
oddley enough i had a letter from the same pio about a horse id sold and never put into my name, they didnt care a jot about someone was trying to register the horse in thier name, more that i could register myself as the owner for a reduced fee.

oh and we wont mention that the horse would of then had 2 people named as owners in the passport...
 
I think they don't care because, as we know, the passport system is in place for horses entering the human food chain not as proof of ownership.

As the horse was over 6 months old when it was first registered it is automatically banned from being slaughtered for human consumption. In the eyes of the passport agency it doesn't really matter how old it is as long as it is over 6 months old.

That's my take on the situation anyway.
 
sadly as long as they get your money the passport issuers really don't seem interested in what is actually in the passport, they really are a waste of time:( i was a naughty girl and didn't get one for daughters old pony, we had him just before they became compulsory. I sold him last year with a shiny new passport, no questions at all from issuer as to why a 16 year old pony needed a new passport:rolleyes:
 
I was astounded at the difference in the agencies.
Horse Agency - I have amended owner, address and horses name and they've never once asked for proof, seen the passport or anything.
New Forest Society - I sent the passport back to them and needed a copy of ponies receipt. They changed it and stamped the passport before sending it back. Incidentally, I need to change my address with them and can't find how to do it?
 
Don't get me started on them! My horse is currently missing on loan, partially due to their negligence which they are trying to deny! They were happy enough to change the ownership in the passport without my sayso at all - no contact was made to me at all! Wasn't until I contacted them that I found out.
 
The Horse Passport Agency has a policy of not altering the year of foal to another specific date or year. We accept that people can disagree with the date that has been provided to us originally by the vet, especially in cases where the application was for an older animal not registered in its foaling year, and in such cases we can alter it to read "Unknown". For a more detailed explanation including a link to a study by Bristol University on Aging by Dentition please visit our website and select Frequent Questions from the left hand menu.

With regards to Change of Ownership we always try and point out the legal responsibility to register ownership within 30 days and as we can’t accept updates to a passport until it is correctly registered, it is the first stage in updating your passport.

Our Owner Services allow Change of Ownership to be recorded on-line and represent over 90% of the changes we receive as it removes the risk of passports going stray in the post or not being available for competitions or vets etc. The program asks various security questions to ensure the applicant is in possession of the passport and works very well for the purpose of the legislation.

The Horse Passport Agency has now issued, or maintains, over 220,000 passports including Pleasure Horse Society passports. We regularly review our procedures and always welcome constructive suggestions and whilst we can’t always implement them, we will consider them. Please “Contact Us” via www.HorsePassportAgency.co.uk if you have any specific queries or ideas on how we can improve our services.

Regards


Andrew Davis
Horse Passport Agency, Director
 
thank for your input Mr Davis. Personally, if I had a youngster or new horse I was going to get a passport for, I'm afraid I wouldn't use this company. It's very easy to send a passport by recorded delivery and I have been much happier with the services provided by breed societies, who have required signatures from the seller. Just my personal opinion but I would be very concerned if putting a horse out on loan with one of these passports.
My pony's passport will be changed to DOB unknown as per the 'policy' but the letter from my vet will be going in the passport for the future welfare of the horse. The age she is at, her dentition is very clear; it is not an opinion of my vet, the evidence is indisputable as she has adult central and middle incisors and juvenile corner incisors. Interestingly, other passport issuing agencies don't have the same policy, which is disappointing for me that my pony isn't with one of them.
 
But just because the person attempting to change ownership has the passport, doesn't mean that they own the horse? Any horse going out on loan must have the passport with it! I think its a really bad way to allow people to change ownership.

I will not use this company for passports in the future since the ongoing fight I'm having to retrieve my horse! I have found the company most unhelpful in the process too and very unwilling to do anything about the ownership problem..
 
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