Dear Horse Owner,

Roadside checks have now been started by Trading Standards (see Horse & Hound article
http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/news/article.php?aid=82754&cid=397 ) across the country.  A number of owners who have passports for their horses have been caught without them whilst transporting the animal to competitions etc. Whilst Trading Standards officers have been lenient to date they are now warning this bedding in period will soon end and breaches will result in a fine.  Make sure you get in to the habit of always transporting your horse with its passport.

Passport Check List:

1. Make sure you have your passport with you when transporting your horse.

2. If you have bought a horse with a passport ensure it is registered in your ownership with the passport issuing organisation (simply writing your name in the passport is insufficient!).  For Horse Passport Agency passports
you can request a change of ownership form from http://www.horsepassportagency.org/ownership.php .

3. Ensure if you have changed address you have updated the passport issuing organisation with your new address details. For Horse Passport Agency passports you can request a change of ownership form from
http://www.horsepassportagency.org/address.php .

4. If you have bought a horse without a passport get one straight away. 

Identity passports cost £18 fromhttp://www.horsepassportagency.org/registration.php . 

Regards

PS. We are now the largest issuer of Identity Passports with over 116,000 issued.  Passports cost just £18 and take approximately 10 days to issue (48 Hour Fast Track service also available). 

Contributed by EPIC:

PRESS RELEASE: NEW DEADLINE FOR HORSE PASSPORTS

Regulations setting out full details of what is required by horse owners under the "horse passport" scheme have now been laid before Parliament, and give owners an extra six months to obtain passports for their animals.

The new horse passport regulations will help protect the human food chain by ensuring that all horses, ponies and donkeys are issued with identification documents, which must contain details of certain veterinary drugs if the animal could end up being for human consumption.  It will enable the British horse industry to continue using treatments that are important for horses not intended for the food chain.

The regulations include information on when a horse needs to be accompanied by a passport, what to do with the passport when a horse is sold or dies and what happens if a passport is lost or damaged.