The law requires all horses obtain a passport as a foal, although some owners do still apply late.
Owners (and buyers) can be confident that the year of foal recorded in the passport is based on the information provided to us at the time of registration. It is therefore important when considering the stated age of the animal that you look at the both the date of foal recorded in the passport and the date the passport was issued.
Where the stated date of birth is within 6 months of the Issue Date, or within the same calendar year you can have a much greater level of confidence regarding the stated age.
It is possible that for older animals the vet may have relied on aging by dentition to verify the year of foal stated by the owner. The limitations regarding the accuracy of Aging by Dentition were highlighted in a 1995 study by Bristol University.
If the age of the animal is later disputed we will not accept an alternative year or date but may record it as unknown.
We recommend if you are registering an older horse and you are unsure of its year of foaling you ensure the vet selects Unknown.
If you buy a horse and believe the Year of Foal is incorrect this can only be changed to Unknown.