Passports

passport to paradiseThe horse passport regulations came into force in June 2004.

By now every equine i.e. horse, pony or donkey should have a passport. Although this may appear to be more bureaucracy designed to complicate horse ownership, the new passports do allow us to continue using many medicines which would otherwise be banned from being used on horses, which are considered as food producing animals by the rest of Europe.

It is an offence not to possess a passport for a horse, pony or donkey in your possession.

Passport types

Passports must be of the type that contains the relevant medicines pages which must be signed by the owner to indicate whether the horse is or is not intended for human consumption. If the passport is signed as not intended for human consumption then there are no restrictions on which drugs we can use and these do not need to be recorded in the passport. However, if the horse is intended for human consumption then there are restrictions on which drugs can be used on that horse. Those which may not be used include phenylbutazone (Bute), various antibiotics, painkillers, anti-inflammatories and sedatives. If the passport is not signed at all then we must assume that the horse is intended for human consumption and as such then the above restrictions apply.

Help us to help you!

Therefore, we urge all our clients to sign their horse’s passport to state that their animal/s is not intended for human consumption to allow us to continue using all medicines available to us. If you do wish your horse to enter the human food chain then please sign the relevant pages to indicate this in the passport and please notify our office of this and also notify the vet treating your horse at each visit, but please do be aware that this restricts our choice of medicines to be used on your horse.

Some older passports from certain breed societies may not contain the relevant medicines sections (often called Section IX). These may need to be returned to the relevant society to have this section added.

Thank you for assisting us with this and of course if your horse does not have passport or a passport with relevant medicine sections, then please contact the office to arrange for us to come out and fill in a passport application form.