Passports and horse ages

[situpsitback]

How common is it for ages to be wrong in passports? The passport is white, if that makes a difference.

 

[spacefaer]

Who knows? There are plenty of anecdotal stories of incorrect information in passports but without written evidence, it's generally hard to prove.
I'd say a higher %age of passports are correct than not, even if they are white books.
What is making you suspicious?

 

[situpsitback]

I don’t know very much about horse passports and what the different colours mean. I know the horse came from Ireland originally. I suspect it is older than the passport says, and I just wondered if this was common or something rare.

 

[criso]

I guess it depends on how much history is in the passport. If I had a passport issued 5 years ago for a horse of 6 and the microchip matched, then I would assume it was about that age. If I had a horse that was 10 and the passport had been issued recently, then at best someone has estimated the age of a horse whose passport has been lost which is not an exact science. It could also be someone who has deliberately lost a passport to hide the history and repassport as younger.

Assuming you are talking about Irish passports, white means no recorded breeding.

 

[rabatsa]

I have had several from Ireland that have been re-passported once in this country. The age is very much what the new owner wished to have put on. The last one the passport said six, both the vet and myself thought nearer 14. The issueing office were prepared to change the age to unknown, when I sent it in for a name change.

 

[situpsitback]

Thank you. I think then it’s definitely possible. The dentist is going to come out and give his opinion, which I think is the best I can do.

 

[Ownedby4horses]

I’ve seen it a lot with older generic uk passports, where the passport was issued long after the horse was supposedly born. I’ve got two passports for example that were issued well after the horse’s supposed birth date, one passport didn’t even have a date in it but his age was confirmed by contacting his first owner.

 

[meleeka]

They can only say what the owner has stated. I had to put an age on one I bought without a passport. I only had a rough age, based on what the equine dentist said. The previous owner didn’t know either. He couldn’t remember how long he’d owned the horse for but it was over 10 years.

I think it must be pretty common when passports are applied for to knock a few years off the age.

 

[Smoky 2022]

It actually very common especially in Ireland. I have a horse that the passport said the year of birth is 2009. I got in contact with the breeder a turns out that my horse was born in 2000. I don’t trust passports anymore.

 

[Glitter's fun]

Assume the passport is a work of fiction until proven otherwise.

*Grumpy old woman warning*
When I bought my first horse Margaret Thatcher was PM & my viewing trip to Wales was held up by miners picketing. The identification of the horse was by the vet drawing a diagram of her white bits and putting crosses on it where her hair whorls were. The age section went " 1,2,3,4,5,6, mature, aged". Her height I measured myself - and I do mean 'I measured myself' , as in I didn't have a stick but I knew the tip of my nose was 14.2 when wearing those boots.

Now you're thinking we've moved on from that but my point is that we haven't actually. All sorts of checks & balances have been brought in but they are very easily got round.

 

[Nasicus]

Bought an 8 1/2yr old last year, according to passport. Turns out she's 13 as was passported when she was 5.

 

[situpsitback]

thanks for your replies. I suppose it doesn’t really matter in the end, but I’m seeing changes that make me think older is a definite possibility, and I’m just curious.

 

[criso]

Bear in mind it can happen the other way too, a 4/5 year old is worth more than a horse that is rising 3.

 

[tda]

I don't quite understand how horses can need to be repassported anyway.
There can't be that many surely who have never been microchipped?
Vet to check chip then apply for replacement from the issuing body
Am I being naive ?

 

[The Irish Draft 2022]

In my opinion the passport system is a joke dealer can get away with getting a new passport to change age and block people from finding the breeder or knowing anything about the horse. I always thought my mare is older but I have no proof and she came with her original passport . My mam doesn’t want me asking the dentist because it would upset her if my horse was older because she loves my mare . My mare is 13 years old but I always think she looks and acts way older, feel she is just to sensible for her age.