Registration and Passports - Haflinger Society of Great Britain Passports Only.
Owners of foals need to obtain a passport for them by 31st December in the year of their birth, or by six months after their birth, whichever is later. A passport is issued on application to register the foal with the Society and registration forms are provided by the Registrar on request. It is now mandatory to have all foals micro chipped before a passport can be issued and you should already have your registration form for when a veterinary attends to carry out this procedure. There is space provided on the registration forms for the microchip number to be recorded and the veterinary will also be able to complete the necessary confirmation and markings section at the same time. The completed registration form should be returned to the Registrar along with the stallion covering certificate that will have been given to you by the stallion owner. All other required information is listed on the registration form. It is the responsibility of the owner that all information provided on the registration application form is clear and correct and all photographs have been identified with the horses name written on the back. The passport can only be as accurate as the information provided.
Owners of horses that have not applied for a passport within the timescale outlined above are committing an offence under the Horse Passports Regulations 2009. Please apply for your passport(s) as soon as possible.It is an offence to keep or sell a horse without a passport.
The Passport.
The first page of the passport gives the details of your Haflinger, including its full registered name, sire, dam, date of birth, the breeder and a 15 digit Unique Life Number (ULN). Your Haflinger’s ‘continuous number’ is the last four digits of the ULN.
Pages 3-5 record any change of owner and once the passport has been updated the new owner must sign in the box that contains their name and address.
All flu shots and any medication your Haflinger receives should be recorded in the passport. Flu shots starting on page 7.
Pages 10 and 11 have a detailed description of your Haflinger for identification purposes and these pages will be updated after inspections to record the height, girth and bone measurements and also any brands that are received.
Pages 12 and 13 give a six generation pedigree. Page 14 has your Haflinger’s permanent registration number and breeding status and should also contain a head shot photograph. If no permanent number has been recorded please contact the Registrar. Fillies will have their permanent number recorded after inspection at three years of age.
Please think carefully before signing Section A on page 21 – the declaration for human consumption. Once this section has been signed this decision is irreversible. Leaving the declaration unsigned does not mean that your horse will automatically go down this route but it does mean you will have kept that option open should your circumstance change in the future. Page 24 lists the contents of the passport, however, over the past few years fillies inspection marks have been inserted onto this page.
Horses to be accompanied by their passport at all times.
A horse may not be moved without being accompanied by its passport. Exceptions to this are:
If a horse is stabled or at pasture
Leaving a competition or event area for training or test purposes
Being moved on foot where the passport can be made available within 3 hours.
Unweaned foals accompanied by their dam or foster mare
Emergency situations
Change of Ownership
Every passport is returned to the owner complete with a ‘Transfer Certificate’ that can be located in the pocket on the back cover of the passport. When a horse is sold this form should be completed by both the vendor and the purchaser. Current legislation states that the new owner(s) must inform the passport issuing organisation (PIO) within 30 days of acquiring the animal, it is an offence not to do so. The passport, along with the completed ’Transfer Certificate’ and necessary fee must be sent to the Registrar within those 30 days in order that the passport can be amended to record the new owner. Transfer of owners are recorded in the quarterly Focus on Haflinger magazine so if you do not wish the transfer to be published please indicate this with a covering note. You must also inform the Society of any permanent change of address and return the passport so that it can be updated with those details.
Transfer Certificates can be downloaded here.
Gelding Registration
As soon as a colt is gelded permanent registration must be applied for. The passport should be returned to the Registrar along with the ‘Gelding Registration’ form that must be completed by the veterinary that performed the gelding procedure, and any fees due. The Registrar will issue a permanent gelding number and this will be recorded on page 14 of the passport. The gelding registration form would have been included in the back pocket of the passport when the colt was originally registered, alternatively you can contact the Registrar ordownload one here.
Haflinger Deaths
Current legislation requires that the passport for any deceased horse or pony must be returned to the appropriate PIO within a 30 day period. The passport will be amended as necessary and held by the Society or, at the request of the owner be returned to them. If you do not wish to speak to anyone, at what can be a very distressing time, then please forward the passport to the Registrar along with a covering letter. A record of deceased animals are published in the quarterly ‘Focus on Haflinger’ magazine and should you not wish for this to happen then please indicate this in your correspondence.
Duplicate Passports
Owners should ensure their passport is kept safely and securely, however if your passport is lost, stolen or damaged beyond recognition you can apply for a duplicate. The Society will only issue a duplicate passport if your original was issued by us. You will need to contact the Registrar for the appropriate form that must be completed by a veterinary. They will have to complete the ‘confirmation and drawings’ section of the form and locate and verify the microchip number If your Haflinger has not been micro chipped this must be done before a passport can be issued. The application must also include recent head photographs showing any facial markings clearly.The passport will be stamped as being a ‘duplicate’ and the horse will automatically be declared not for human consumption.
Prefix.
Any prefix that you wish to use when registering your foals must be registered with the Society. The Central Prefix form must be completed in full and returned to the Registrar with the appropriate fee, currently £50.00. Please do not return to the Central Prefix Register (CPR).It will be the decision of the CPR if the prefix is acceptable or not and not that of the Society. The CPR will inform you if your application has been successful. Prefix Registration forms can be requested from the Registrar or you can download one here.
NED - National Equine Database
As a PIO we are required to record horse and owner details for all passports issued. These details are passed to the National Equine Database who will publish details of your horse on the public NED website. Your personal details will not be displayed on the site but are available to enforcement bodies and may be used in the event of a disease outbreak. That is why it is essential to transfer horses into new owner’s names and also inform the Society of any change of permanent address in case anything should occur in your area.
DNA Testing
In accordance with the Society ruling all breeding mares must be DNA tested before their first foal is born. Fillies attending their three year old inspection will have hair samples taken that can either be kept in their individual file held by the Society or processed immediately. If you are unsure if your mare has been DNA tested then please contact the Registrar for further details.All breeding stallions must also be DNA tested.
Moving Forward
DEFRA are currently reviewing the possibility of having just one passport issuing body rather than individual Societies producing their own.This will have obvious knock effects for many Societies some of which could be detrimental to the breed. A PIO Steering Group has been formed and they represent the 80+ individual PIO’s. They are currently in talks with DEFRA and we await the outcome of their meetings and decisions as this could greatly affect the way in which we operate in the future.
Society Passports - if we are still in a position to produce them. Our passports were first produced in the early part of the last decade (2000’s) and have served us well during that time. The pages were printed on mass and we are now coming to the end of the original document. According to DEFRA’s final decision and should we still be able to continue producing our own passports we will be in an ideal position to review and update this document.
Smart Cards - currently under review by the EU. A credit card size document containing both visible and electronic information about each individual animal and proposed as an alternative to travelling with your passport. Would contain visible information such as:
The PIO issuing body
Unique life number
Name
Sex
Colour
Microchip number
Photo of the animal
If you have any concerns or questions regarding passports or registration procedures please contact the Registrar.
e-mail: registrar@haflingersgb.com
post: Heyhead, Rochdale Road, Bacup, Lancashire, OL13 9XF.