Passports

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Vodkagirly

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Passports were introduced while I was having a break from horses so I didn't pay much attention to them, since I got involved again I haven't owned (yet) so not looked in to them much but a few threads have confused me so some posibly numpty questions...
Do all horses have to have a passport? i thought they did but some don't seem to.
A few threads have sugested that they don't prove ownership so what is the point of them?
I understand different horses are eligible for different societies passports - can a horse hold more than one? how do you decide which?

Many thanks in advance.
 
Do all horses have to have a passport? i thought they did but some don't seem to -- yup all horses are meant to, you can be fined up to £5k if yours doesn't hold a valid passport.

A few threads have sugested that they don't prove ownership so what is the point of them? -- point is to try and see how many domestic horses are in uk, puts people off stealing them and makes them easier to trace. It's a good record of vacinations aswell, shows oftern want to see them and new yards.

I understand different horses are eligible for different societies passports - can a horse hold more than one? how do you decide which? I think I picked because of price! If your horse is a specific breed its better to have breed passport I think but other than that its up to you

hope tht helps
 
The vets also require to see the passports to include details of vaccinations etc. Also you cann sign passport to say that you don't/do want your horse (when dead) to go intothe food chain. By the vet listing medication that can preclude the horse going into the food chain should you wish it.
 
seadog said:
Do all horses have to have a passport? i thought they did but some don't seem to -- yup all horses are meant to, you can be fined up to £5k if yours doesn't hold a valid passport.

A few threads have sugested that they don't prove ownership so what is the point of them? -- point is to try and see how many domestic horses are in uk, puts people off stealing them and makes them easier to trace. It's a good record of vacinations aswell, shows oftern want to see them and new yards.

I understand different horses are eligible for different societies passports - can a horse hold more than one? how do you decide which? I think I picked because of price! If your horse is a specific breed its better to have breed passport I think but other than that its up to you

hope tht helps
Click to expand...

So if a horse doesn't have a passport does that mean its never seen a vet?
Do they all get microchipped when passported? presumably this can't be removed.
 
The legislation is European wide and concerns the 'Identification of Equidae" you can google that and look on DEFRA or EU Commission website.

The original purpose was to record medication given to equidae which could be harmful to humans who eat horse meat. So every horse had to have an ID document on which a vet could record drugs such as 'BUTE' to prevent them entering the human food chain.

Most of the horse meat I see on sale in France is from Mexico - where they don't have passports at all!!!

It is an offence to sell a horse without a passport but not to buy one. It is not proof of ownership which is why the leiglsation is such nonsense.

In France the 'ownership document' is issued by French national Stud and is separate to the passport - imo a better system.
 
So if a horse doesn't have a passport does that mean its never seen a vet?
Well when I got my horse passported I had the vet out specificly to do this as its a legal requirement to have one, if horse doesn't have passport it might just be that the owner is lazy, it's been stolen, it's got dodgy past but there are obviously many more reasons. Personally I would never buy a horse without a passport, whats the point!

Do they all get microchipped when passported? presumably this can't be removed.
No, I only got my horse chipped a few years ago, then wrote to passport place and told them. All horses born from now on must be micro chipped so in 30 years or so this will not be a problem, the theory is that all horses should be micro chipped and passported. Horses born before 2007 (i think it is?) dont need to have micro chips but its a good idea.
 
Rollin said:
The legislation is European wide and concerns the 'Identification of Equidae" you can google that and look on DEFRA or EU Commission website.

The original purpose was to record medication given to equidae which could be harmful to humans who eat horse meat. So every horse had to have an ID document on which a vet could record drugs such as 'BUTE' to prevent them entering the human food chain.

Most of the horse meat I see on sale in France is from Mexico - where they don't have passports at all!!!

It is an offence to sell a horse without a passport but not to buy one. It is not proof of ownership which is why the leiglsation is such nonsense.

In France the 'ownership document' is issued by French national Stud and is separate to the passport - imo a better system.
Click to expand...


Thanks, that makes more sense. Passports seemed to be a great idea to me as a potential buyer getting rid of all the what age is it really and who really owns it but rather than being done properly its just to help the meat industry - shame coz if it had been done properly it would have more benefits to an owner.
 
Yep! It says on Picasso's Passport he's 20...the Dentist says closer to 30 but its all in Spanish anyway so I say he's as young as he feels.
From what I can see if you lose it you can just reapply for another or buy one on e-bay ;)
 
Basically DO NOT buy a horse without a passport
Be suspicious if horse has a newly issued passport unless you are buying a foal (could have been re-passported so could be stolen or having identity changed)
Make sure passport fits the horse
If the passport was issued after 1st July 2009 horse must be microchipped, horses holding passports issued before that do not need to be microchipped.
 
For an older horse.....a passport doesnt prove its age, unless its been registered with a breed society and its age verified by the breeder/srud book or whatever.

Its a guestimate by the vet who did the passport in the first place....the age on my old horses passport was a random guess according to my EDT:eek:

For younger horses who have been passported/microchipped at birth then yes the age is verifiable.....
 
It is now an offfence to buy a horse without a passport as well as to sell.

Passports are primarily for traceability as under EU law horses are viewed as food producing animals ...

All horses should have a passport, unless they are subject to the exemption for ponies with grazing rights on the New Forest and Dartmoor (possibly Exmoor too, not sure), in which case so long as they are on the verderer's list they don't need a passport until they are moved off of the forest (or moor).

Anything born since July 2009 needs a micro chip, as does anything older that didn't have a passport at that time.

A horse shouldn't have more than one passport, but who the passport is from is up to you. If it is a specific breed or used in a specific discipline then I would go with the breed/discipline's society. I have heard of passports being overstamped by societies, which I think may be to do with a horse being a specific breed and competing a specific discipline, but not so sure about that sid eof things.
 
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