How to Register a Foal

There is more to registering a foal than just giving it a name. You need to follow very specific and important procedures.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Breed-specific Magazines

1. Check with the sanctioning or governing body for the breed of your horse. Each breed has different requirements for foal registration.

2. Document the parents. This will help in documenting the foal. Both parents must be of a certain lineage or have certain characteristics to be documented.

3. Verify the dam and sire and the shipping of semen if the breeding was an artificial insemination, A.I. Governing boards for some breeds do not allow I.A.

4. Identify the dam and sire if the breeding was an embryo transplant. Some breeds do not allow embryo transplants. Some registries require DNA testing via a mane root sample or blood.

5. Register the foal according to the breed specifications. Some breeds will not allow a foal to be registered until a particular age. Other breeds encourage the foal to be registered as soon as possible and give monetary incentives for doing so.

6. Know that some breeds require that certain markings or characteristics be present in order to be registered.

7. Realize that foals of parents who are unregistered sometimes are ineligible for registration or receive a hardship registration or breeding registration.

8. Name a foal according to the names of the dam and sire. Many registered names are a combination of the dam and sire's name to help identify bloodlines.

9. Receive approval for a foal's registered name from the breed sanctioning body. Sometimes you have to have several choices.

Tips & Warnings

• Document all breedings by getting a copy of the dam's and sire's papers and signing an agreement with the owners.
• Not registering a foal can greatly reduce its value.