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The majority of papers are now routinely issued within a few short weeks of the completion of all registration requirements. It was not too long ago when the process took the central office the best part of a year to accomplish the same task. This monumental improvement in service has been widely noted by the membership.

Photo: © Tamara Torti

 

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Streamlining the Foal Registration Process

The core business of The American Hanoverian Society is the issuing of registration papers to Hanoverians foaled in North America. It is meaningful to receive pink papers on an AHS registered horse, knowing that the papers are backed by the integrity of the Society, the professionalism of the inspection process, and the thoroughness of the registration process.

AHS foals have been parentage verified through blood typing since 1994; however the introduction of DNA analysis in 2000 has made the process simpler for our members. The papers themselves are greatly improved, and beginning with the foal crop of 2001 now incorporate the 15-digit Universal Equine Life Number, as determined by the World Breeding Federation for Sport Horses (WBFSH). In addition, the registry now includes full stallion performance test information on the sire and both grandsires of every AHS registered foal, whenever this information is available to us.

We are fully aware that many of our members truly enjoy the thrill of delivering that newborn foal, but cringe at the thought of "all that paperwork" involved in the registration process. To that end, we have made a significant change in the process for foals of 2003. To obtain pink AHS papers on an eligible foal, the office requires the following:

A completed Inspection Tour Enrollment Form located in the center of the Annual Inspection Tour Book, which is mailed every April. This form is to be completed even if the foal is to receive papers via mail and will not be attending an inspection.

The original (white) stallion service certificate which is supplied directly to the office by the stallion owner. Our receipt of this document advises the registry that all financial obligations, including payment of stud fee, have been made and that the registry may proceed with the foal’s registration. We also require the mare owner’s (yellow) carbon copy of this document.

A set of four color photographs, clearly showing all white markings. See Registration Photo Guidlines (PDF) for more information

Completed DNA parentage verification. The AHS now generates these kits in-house which has resulted in a more efficient service to our members.

Now to the change:

In former times, the stallion Certificate of Service was issued in triplicate. The stallion owner submitted the original (white) copy to the society; the stallion owner mailed the yellow copy to the mare owner; and the stallion owner retained the pink copy for his or her files. This form is now in duplicate. Starting with foals of 2003, the original will still be sent directly to the central office and the stallion owner will retain his or her copy. The mare owner will not receive a copy.

This change will make the paperwork involved with the registration process less onerous for both stallion and mare owner. In the first case, the stallion owner will no longer be obliged to mail the yellow carbon copy to the mare owner. This should result in considerable savings in both time and money for the stallion owner. Secondly, the mare owner will no longer be required to submit his or her yellow carbon copy to the office as part of the foal registration process. In many cases, considerable time has elapsed from the mare’s owner’s receipt of the carbon copy stallion service certificate and the request from the AHS office for it to be submitted to the central office with other registration documents. A chief cause of delay in issuing registration papers has been late submission of the yellow breeding certificate to the AHS office.

In the event that a mare owner pursues foal registration with a registry other than the American Hanoverian Society, the foal’s owner has two options. He/she can either request the original from the AHS office or may obtain a stallion service certificate from the breed registry that actually ends up registering the foal.

The AHS is a full member of the WBFSH. It is a violation of WBFSH statutes for a warmblood foal to be issued two sets of registration papers. This has been AHS board policy for a number of years, and is also the unanimous policy of the Federation of North American Sport Horse Registries. Federation members cooperate fully with each other so that they do not inadvertently double register horses. We believe it is inappropriate for an AHS papered and branded horse to be issued foal papers by another registry. We even know of cases, quite a few in fact, where an AHS papered horse has subsequently been issued papers and even branded by another breed society. With the considerable help of the good offices of the WBFSH, the Federation is working to put an end to this practice in the United States.

The AHS believes that reducing the number of carbon copies of AHS Stallion Service Certificates from two to one will significantly help to eliminate the practice of double-registering horses. This new procedure is already followed by a number of other breed societies in this country, including the German Oldenburg Verband. We trust that you will find that this simple change makes the AHS foal registration process even smoother in 2003 and the years to come.