passport laws for horses at livery

tormor

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What do you do with your passport if your horse is at livery? Currently i have my passport at home which i'm sure most people do. However my yard has just asked to see all passports and photocopy pages of the passport to prove to any inspector that they have seen the passports. Surely a photocopy is not acceptable for when it comes to an inspection happens and the horse's passport must be presented. From what i understand a passport is supposed to be shown when a horse arrives at a yard but how do you prove that? surely a photocopy of certain pages of a passport isn't sufficient? What would you do in this situation?
 

martlin

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I've shown the inspectors photocopies and they were absolutely fine with it. Although I suppose they were much more interested with my cross compliance and livestock tags, medicine record etc :)
 

Honey08

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I think that being shown the passports and having a photocopy on record is acceptable. I wouldn't want the responsibility of keeping passports for livery owners!
 

Luci07

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Our yard keeps all the passports. I have a copy of mine at home as well though, albeit its a little out of date now on the flu/tet vacs! I seem to remember it was a legal requirement for them to kept at the yard but will now go and check!

Just checked and can only find articles stating that the passports should be with "the keeper of the horse" but can't find it as a specific legal requirement.

For me it makes sense so when my vet has done the vax etc, its all at the yard, ditto for the days when I evented, it was kept there.
 
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Sagittarius

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It depends on what you mean by "livery" and who is the "keeper" in the eyes of the inspector.

The law says that the keeper holds the passport - and the keeper is the person responsible for the day to day care. If you're on DIY - then you are the keeper and responsible person and hold the passport. The YO is simply hiring the facilities to you.

If you're on full livery and the daily care of the horse is in the hands of the YO - then they are the keeper and need to hold the passport.

Then there's a big grey area in the middle to do with part/assisted/ etc where it isn't fully clear who has day to day responsibility.

The likelyhood of a formal inspection of a yard is much lower than that of being stopped when travelling a horse - and you definitely need the passport with the horse then.
 

lilaclomax

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The way I interupted the law when it first was put into place was...
On a DIY yard you had to produce a passport before you arrived plus proof of our public liability insurance, a photocopy was taken and the passports handed back. You arrange your own vet visits, insurance and vaccinations etc... which is why, as the owners, you hold the passports.
If the livery owner has more responsbility in the day to day care of the horses they may hold the passports in a safe place on the yard, if they arrange and are there for routine vet visits then the YO most definately should hold the passports all the time apart from when the horse travels.


Make sense !?! ???
 

BHS1

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We had a situation like this a while ago where suddenly the yard owner decided he wanted to keep all passports. This didn't go down too well with some of the liveries, some even left!
When contacted The British Horse Society stated they wouldn’t recommend that you leave the original passport at the yard as this should be kept by the owner of the horse.
If I were a YO personally I would'nt want the responsibility. Keeping all the passports in one place could be costly if lost or stolen!!
 

Rollin

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What do you do with your passport if your horse is at livery? Currently i have my passport at home which i'm sure most people do. However my yard has just asked to see all passports and photocopy pages of the passport to prove to any inspector that they have seen the passports. Surely a photocopy is not acceptable for when it comes to an inspection happens and the horse's passport must be presented. From what i understand a passport is supposed to be shown when a horse arrives at a yard but how do you prove that? surely a photocopy of certain pages of a passport isn't sufficient? What would you do in this situation?

Why does this debate continue? A horse must be accompanied by its passport at all times, exceptions being when it is hacked out or being turned out. If a passport is sent away for an overstamp, the keeper should have a photocopy and the organisation providing the stamp should return it within 45 days.

Why would BHS give this information? A passport it not proof of ownership and should be retained by the keeper and not the owner.

In France, we have only one PIO, National Stud and we have non of this nonsense. Every horse has a passport PLUS an ownership document. One is kept by the keeper the other by the owner. Change of ownership is via the Ownership Document which must be signed by buyer and seller and returned to National Stud. New ownership, linked to the m/chip is registered on the SIRE National Database. It is a much more effective system and one which the UK should emulate.
 

BHS1

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Why does this debate continue? A horse must be accompanied by its passport at all times, exceptions being when it is hacked out or being turned out.

Why would BHS give this information? A passport it not proof of ownership and should be retained by the keeper and not the owner.

In France, .

Horse accompanied by passport at all times - not true

BHS gives info it believes is true. Contact them to find out why!

Defra states passports should be held by the owner

In England things are English - sometimes confused but English!
 

jhoward

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Horse accompanied by passport at all times - not true

BHS gives info it believes is true. Contact them to find out why!

Defra states passports should be held by the owner

In England things are English - sometimes confused but English!

you are incorrect, the KEEPER is the one that by law is required to be in possesion of the passport.

the only time a horse should not be with its pass port is for thinks like hacking out, if its in a box going any where it should also have passport with it.


From 1 July 2009, the horse’s owner, or keeper, must make sure the passport is available for inspection at all times. However, you don’t need to have the passport on hand when the horse is:

•in its stable or grazing in a field

•being moved by foot


http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2009/1611/pdfs/uksi_20091611_en.pdf
 
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MrsHutt

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My understanding is (and it's an easy way to keep it clear) that the passport stays with the horse. So if it's at livery, the YO keeps it. If it goes anywhere by lorry, for instance, the passport goes with it (hacking, etc an exception!)

My YO keeps them all. She is very good at keeping everything up-to-date and letting you know when jabs etc are due if you have forgotten (likely, in my case!). ;)
 
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