All horses and ponies should now have an official passport identification. Below is information directly from the DEFRA website which should be consulted for regulations relating to horse passports.

Q1. How do the Horse Passport Regulations affect owners of horses?
The Horse Passports (England) Regulations 2004 required all owners to obtain a passport for each horse they own. The introduction of the Horse Passports Regulations 2009 strengthens the current scheme, and introduces compulsory micro-chipping for foals and horses not previously identified

Q2. Why have the Horse Passports Regulations been updated?
Not all member states had implemented the horse passport requirements correctly therefore the Commission has introduced a new Regulation to ensure a harmonised approach is taken across the EU. The new Regulation strengthens the link between the horse and the information regarding its medical treatment that is recorded on the passport. This measure will reduce the risk of unsuitable horses entering the food chain. The permanent link will be achieved by means of an implanted microchip containing a unique identification number, with passport and microchip details recorded on a database.

Q3. What are the main changes?
The key changes being introduced are:

• mandatory microchipping of foals (and adult horses not previously identified) when before a passport can be issued;
• horses must be accompanied by their passport at all times (with a few exceptions see question 16);
• owners or keepers with primary responsibility for care of the horse must ensure any horse they look after is correctly identified
  if a passport is not available or the horses food status is not known to the vet – certain veterinary medicines may not be administered or prescribed;
• extends the passport rules to zebra and other exotic equidae not previously covered;
• allows Member States to authorise the use of ‘smart cards’ instead of paper passports to accompany equidae moving within national boundaries.

Q4. Why do horses need to be identified?
The aim of horse passport legislation is to ensure that horses which have been treated with veterinary medicines not authorised for use in food-producing animals cannot be slaughtered for human consumption. Failure to comply with these requirements could result in the UK losing key veterinary medicines or our horsemeat trade

Q5. When do I need to apply for a passport?
Foals have to have a passport and microchip by 31 December in the year in which they are born or 6 months after birth, whichever is the latest. Animals born before 1 July 2009 which, at that date, do not have a passport under the existing rules will have to have a passport and microchip by 31 December 2009.

After this latter date you should apply for a passport as soon as possible. Owners of horses that have not applied for a passport within the timescales outlined in paragraph one above are committing an offence under the Horse Passports Regulations 2009. You should apply for a passport as soon as possible.

Owners should note that if you apply for a passport after the timelines outlined in the first paragraph Part 2 of Section IX will be completed by the issuing body before the passport is issued, irreversibly excluding the animal from the human food chain.

Q6. How do I get a passport?
Horse owners must obtain a passport for each horse they own. This is done by application to one of the Passport Issuing Organisations (PIOs) that have been authorised by Defra or the devolved administrations to issue horse passports.

Some of these organisations deal with only one particular breed of horse others will issue passports for all types of horses.

After 1 July 2009 all equines must have a microchip implanted before the application is submitted. If your passport is urgently required, you may wish to check the processing time with the PIO. Some PIOs offer a ‘fast track’ service There is no minimum age under which an owner cannot apply for a horse passport.

Q7. How do I get a microchip implanted?
The microchip must be implanted by a veterinary surgeon; it is an offence for anyone other than a veterinary surgeon to insert a microchip.

The microchip itself will be supplied by the vet. Some passport-issuing organisations will be able to sell you one along with a blank passport with the means to implant it. You may not implant one of these yourself. Before implantation, the vet will check the animal to ensure that it has not already had one implanted (even it has been subsequently removed).

Only microchips that comply with standard ISO 11784 and applying HDX or FDX-B technology should be used. Any microchip inserted must not begin with the 826 UK code. The vet will implant the microchip into the neck of your horse and will note the microchip number on your passport application.

Q8. I am the permanent keeper of a horse – am I responsible for obtaining the passport?
No. It is the responsibility of the horse owner to obtain a passport. The ‘keeper’ means a person who is not the owner of a horse but is appointed by the owner to have day-to-day charge of that horse. Keepers with primary responsibility for the horse’s day-to-day welfare should satisfy themselves that all the horses under their care have been correctly identified before agreeing to keep them. It is an offence to keep a horse without a passport.