Passports

All equines in Europe must have a passport to comply with EU legislation. At Equine Planet we are able to provide you with a Certificate of Equine Identification, which the local agencies require in order to issue an Equine passport.

The passport contains a 15 digits unique equine life number (UELN) to identify the horse, as well as information about ownership of the horse, identification (including microchip number), a full medical and vaccination history, travel history and any societies the horse is registered with.

Please note that all foals born since 1st July 2009 and all adult horses must be microchipped before a passport will be issued.

It is your responsibility as a horse owner to ensure that you have a valid passport.  It will remain valid for the whole lifetime of the animal.  When a horse passes away, the passport should be returned to the passport issuing agency where this will be recorded.  The passport will then be returned to you.

Export Health Certificates 

At Equine Planet we are qualified to complete horse export certificates should you wish to transport any horse abroad.

When horses, ponies and donkeys are exported to foreign countries, they will usually require a vet’s inspection within 48 hours of leaving. All animal exports have to be approved and be issued with certification through the Ministry of Agriculture.

An Export Health Certificate will have to be completed by the vet. Some countries will require blood tests, swabs or even quarantine. This will be stipulated by the importing country and will be detailed in the Export Health Certificate. The Export Health Certificate needs to accompany the horse on its journey.

If quarantine, blood tests and/or swabs are needed, it is important to find this out from the Ministry of Agriculture as soon as possible after you have taken the decision to export the horse. These tests will have to be done in advance of the export and if quarantine is required this will have to be set up.

Horse owners or transporting companies should ensure they are well informed in advance about all the legal requirements pertaining to the export and import of equines by contacting the Ministry of Agriculture.