How to Fill out FEI and USEF Horse Passports

MEDICINE—EXERCISE

How to Fill Out FEI and USEF Horse Passports

C. Mike Tomlinson, DVM, MBA

1. Introduction Completing the Passport Graduate veterinarians are the only ones permit- The influenza vaccination page and the diagram/ ted to complete and stamp the diagram, descrip- description page must be completed before validation, vaccination, and lab-tests pages of the horse tion by the USEF and use at an event. Please passports. The rest of the document will be com- review the entire passport to help the owner through pleted by the owner or the National Federation this process as quickly as possible, but you are only (NF). The NF for the United States is the United responsible for the diagram, description, vaccina- States Equestrian Federation (USEF) based in tion, and lab-tests pages. Lexington, KY. The International equestrian orga- nization is the Fe´de´ration Equestre Internationale Items Required (FEI) based in Lausanne, Switzerland. Member- You will be expected to have a black ball-point pen, ship in these organizations, although highly en- a red ball-point pen, and a personal or clinic stamp couraged, is not a prerequisite for completing a to complete the passport. The stamp must include passport. your name and address and should be as small as is practical. Documents that are always helpful are Role of the FEI Passport for Horses the horse’s registration papers and the vaccination The FEI Passport for Horses is required of all equine and Coggins’ history from your clinic. Also, white competitors in upper-level FEI events. The USEF correction fluid is helpful just in case anything needs National Passport is required of all equine compet- to be corrected. A passport can be completed in itors in most lower-level FEI events. The two pri- 1 hour on a horse by an experienced FEI veterinar- mary functions of the passport are to uniquely ian but allow a few hours in your schedule for the identify the horse and to document the communica- first few passports you complete. ble disease vaccination and testing history. Sec- ondary functions include documentation of current For More Information registration by the FEI and USEF, documentation of The FEI website is the place to find the latest the current owner of record, documentation of information including rules, forms, and bulletins. events attended, and documentation of medication Log on by typing www.HorseSport.org or control samples obtained. www.FEI.ch.

NOTES

AAEP PROCEEDINGS ր Vol. 53 ր 2007 93 MEDICINE—EXERCISE 2. Sections of the Passport the outline onto the passport. This has yielded the most accurate and simple-to-do drawings to date. Front Page The ﬁrst page of the passport contains four or ﬁve Ownership Page pieces of very important information. The ownership page must be fully completed.

Registered Name Validation The name on the passport is the full name of the The passport must be validated by the NF. This horse and is the name that must be used for all generally will be done after you complete the docu- event documents and results. ment. Remind the owner that they need to return the completed passport back to the USEF for vali- Passport Number dation before it can be used at an event. The official, unique, sequential passport number is shown on the first page. The numbering scheme in Registered Owner use for about the last decade is three letters followed The passport is the final authority on the registered by five numbers. The three letters are the Interna- owner of the horse at an FEI event. Often, the tional Olympic Committee (IOC)-designated abbre- registration papers of the horse get changed, but viation for the countries of the world. The letters nobody remembers to officially change the owner- indicate the issuing agency only, not the country of ship on the passport; consequently, ownership does origin or ownership of the horse. The five numbers not get changed with the FEI. NF registration are the sequential number of passports issued by changes are not automatically forwarded to the FEI. that particular country. Only a change of owner entered and validated on the passport is recorded by the FEI. Usually, all prize Date of Expiry money will be distributed to the owner of record as Passports are not valid forever; they must be reval- listed in the passport, regardless of its agreement idated every 4 yr. The first expiration date is 4 yr with the entry form. after the application for the passport was received, not when the passport was validated or when first Identification Page used. The identification pages are for documenting each time a horse is identified by its passport by an FEI Unique Equine Life Number official. The identification pages give a concise his- The Unique Equine Life Number (UELN) for horses tory of the FEI-level events attended since obtaining in the United Kingdom is often listed on the front the passport. These pages will be filled out by the page. Additionally, Section IX pages (this horse FEI-event veterinarians at each event that the pass- not for human consumption) are generally stapled port is required. into the FEI Passports of U.K. horses. Both can be ignored for competition purposes. Pedigree These pages are the newest in the evolution of the NF Registration Number passport. The FEI is very cognizant of the desire to The NFs will often hand print their registration improve the economics of equestrian sports. Hav- number in the upper right corner of the first page of ing a better knowledge of the lineage of the top-level the passport. On U.S. passports, the number found horses will assist in increasing their value. there can usually be relied on to be the horse’s cor- Please encourage the owner to complete the ped- rect USEF registration number. This number be- igree pages; however, the pedigree pages are not ing on the passport is for convenience only. It is not required at this time. required. Description and Diagram Page Chestnuts Page The center of the passport is intentionally reserved The Chestnut drawing page is used to aid in the for the most used page. The description and dia- unique identification of the horse. The FEI Identi- gram pages, together with the chestnuts page, serve fication of the Horse1 booklet states that chestnuts as the sole source of information for determining must be drawn if they have fewer than three whorls. whether or not the horse can be uniquely identified. Elsewhere in the booklet, it states that all horses These pages contain the highest proportion of free- must have three whorls indicated. Use some com- form information, and consequently, they are the mon sense about drawing the chestnuts. If there is pages where most errors occur. any doubt (e.g., a solid colored horse with few or no unique markings), then draw them. Goal of the Diagram/Description A suggestion for completing the page is to take The first and foremost goal is to uniquely identify digital or Polaroid pictures of each of the four chest- the horse. Can you assuredly say that only this one nuts, place the picture behind the page, and trace horse could be represented by this diagram and de-

94 2007 ր Vol. 53 ր AAEP PROCEEDINGS MEDICINE—EXERCISE scription? The FEI-event veterinarian must be description that most closely approximates the able to answer this question with a “yes.” horse that you see in front of you.

Why Not Just a Photograph? ● Black: black pigment is general throughout At first thought, a photograph may seem like a much better way to uniquely identify a horse. Photo- the coat, limbs, mane, and tail, and there is no graphs, unfortunately, have some major limitations. pattern factor present other than white markings. First, although many horses have unique facial ● markings, it is often impossible to tell one all grey Brown: there is a mixture of black and brown gelding from another by looking at 3-yr-old photo- pigment in the coat, and the limbs, mane, and tail are black. graphs. Second, the quality of the photograph, the ● positioning of the horse, the number of pictures re- Bay-Brown: the predominant color is brown quired to show all side of all legs and the head, and with a bay muzzle, black limbs, black mane, and black tail. the age and deterioration of the photograph all lead ● to difficulty in uniquely identifying horses from Bay: bay varies considerably in shade from photographs. dull red approaching brown to a yellowish color approaching chestnut. It can be distin- Why Not Just Microchip? guished from the chestnut by the fact that the Microchip technology (Radio Frequency Identifica- bay has a black mane and tail and almost tion; RFID) has improved exponentially over the invariably has black on the limbs and tips of past decade. At this time, there are many propri- the ears. ● etary chips available, but no one standard has be- Chestnut: this color consists of yellow-col- come accepted in the United States, much less in the ored hair in different degrees of intensity, world. Several electronic RFID readers would be which may be noted. A “true” chestnut has a required at every competition to read those cur- chestnut mane and tail that may be lighter or rently in use. Horses from other countries would darker than the body color. A lighter-colored usually not be able to be scanned. At this time, chestnut may have a flaxen mane and tail. chipping is not a practical method of uniquely iden- ● Gray: the body coat is a varying mosaic of tifying horses at international competitions. black and white hairs, and the skin is black. With increasing age, the coat grows lighter in Neatness color. The flea-bitten grey may contain three When entering the data, you should keep in mind colors or the two basic colors and should be so that this is a permanent and extremely precious described. A pure white is exceptional. document for most owners. What you write in the ● Mouse-colored: this description is sometimes passport will be read many times over the coming used for a grey horse with a black mane and years and will determine if the horse is permitted to tail. compete. Have someone else print legibly if your ● Blue Roan: the body color is bay or bay/brown handwriting is not the most readable. Also, out of mixed with white hair, which gives a blue courtesy to others, please keep your stamps and tinge to the coat. On the limbs from the knees writings inside the spaces allotted. Some passports and hocks down, the black hairs usually do run out of space, and multiple-line usage is often predominate. a significant contributing factor. ● Bay or Red Roan: the body color is bay or bay/brown mixed with white hair, which gives Description a reddish tinge to the coat. On the limbs from Review with the owner all of the text information at the knees and hocks down, the black hairs the top of the page including gender, color, country usually predominate. of birth, sire, dam of sire, etc. Work with the owner ● Strawberry or Chestnut Roan: the body color to be sure that the proper answers have been filled is chestnut mixed with white hairs. in. When entering the gender, spell out the entire ● Blue Dun: the body color is a dilute black word. Do not use “M” for either male or mare. that is evenly distributed. The mane and tail Use “gelding,” “mare,” or “stallion.” The height is are black. There may or may not be a dorsal not required; if it is a pony, the height will be filled band (list) and/or withers stripe. The skin is in by an FEI veterinarian accredited to conduct an black. official pony measurement. ● Yellow Dunn: there is diffuse yellow pigment in the hair. The mane and tail are black. Color of the Horse There may or may not be a dorsal band (list) Remember that this passport could be used any- and/or withers stripe and bars on the legs. The where in the world. As such, the meaning of the striping is usually associated with black pigment color of the horse must be understood similarly on the head and limbs. The skin is black. throughout the world. The list below is what has ● Piebald: the body coat consists of large irreg- been agreed on worldwide. You should select the ular patches of black and white. The line of

AAEP PROCEEDINGS ր Vol. 53 ր 2007 95 MEDICINE—EXERCISE demarcation between the two colors is gener- The description of the markings on the head ally well defined. should be clearly specified with reference to the ● Skewbald: the body consists of large irregu- whorls, the median line, and the eye level. lar patches of white and of any definite color except black. The line of demarcation be- ● Star: any white mark on the forehead. Size, tween the two colors is generally well defined. shape, intensity, position, and colored mark- ● Odd-colored: the body coat consists of large ings (if any) on the white should be specified. irregular patches of more than two colors that Should the markings in the region of the cen- may merge into each other at the edges of the ter of the forehead consist of a few white hairs patches. only, it should be described as such and not ● Isabella: the body coat is of a cream color referred to as a star. with a black mane and tail. When the term ● Stripe: the narrow white marking down the Isabella is used in German, it usually refers to face that is not wider than the flat anterior a body coat of cream and yellow with mane and surface of the nasal bones. In many cases, the tail of the same cream or yellow color. star and stripe are continuous and should be ● Cream: the body coat is of a cream color with described as a star and stripe combined. unpigmented skin. The iris is deficient in pig- Where the stripe is separate and distinct from ment and is often devoid of it, giving the eye a the star, it should be described as an inter- pinkish or bluish appearance. rupted stripe. Where no star is present, the ● Palomino: the body coat is a newly minted point of origin of the stripe should be indicated. gold-coin color (lighter or darker shades are The termination of the stripe and any varia- permissible) with a white mane and tail. tion in breadth, direction, and markings on the ● Appaloosa: body color is grey covered with a white should be so stated (e.g., broad stripe, mosaic of black or brown spots. narrow stripe, inclined to left., etc.). ● Blaze: a white marking covering almost the whole of the forehead between the eyes and From the registration papers or any other source, extending beyond the width of the nasal bones, determine the appropriate answers to put on the usually to the muzzle. Any variations in di- horse’s permanent record for date of birth (not age), rection, termination, and markings on the breed, sire, dam, and dam of sire. white should be stated. ● White Face: the white covers the forehead Diagram and front of the face, and it extends laterally Although it is agreed that you should start at the toward the mouth. The extension may be head and work toward the hind and work from top to unilateral or bilateral, and it should be de- bottom, it is not generally agreed on whether or not scribed accordingly. ● you should start with the description or the dia- Snip: an isolated white marking, indepen- gram. Just remember that whichever you do first, dent of those already named, that is situated the other must match exactly. between or in the region of the nostrils. Its Some veterinarians mark every single white or size, position, and intensity should be gray hair on the body. This is fine as long as these specified. ● peculiarities are not going to change with age. Flesh Mark: a lack of pigmentation, which is Passports are often used for 8–12 yr. Gray-flecked different from a white mark. Black spots hair comes and goes in intensity, bald noses grow within the flesh mark are to be indicated. All hair in winter, and dark patches migrate, but true lip markings, flesh marks or white marks, scars do not disappear, whorls do not move, and should be accurately described. Please con- white/dark areas change very little, even over de- sider the time of year when drawing flesh marks. cades. Do put in every old scar and white area, but ● you are discouraged from putting in shade varia- White Muzzle: the white embraces both lips tions or worrying whether or not some area is a flesh and extends to the region of the nostrils. mark or not. The only items that should be entered Drawing the Diagram—The Limbs into the passport are those that are permanent and The description of markings on the limbs should will not change. Do enter whorls, prophet’s thumb follow a logical sequence. Always start with the marks, and the like, but do not enter recent wounds left forelimb and continue with the right forelimb, that might heal, scars that are coalescing, white left hindlimb, and right hindlimb. Absence of marks that significantly change with the seasons, marks must also be mentioned. the spots on an Appaloosa, etc. All white markings on the limbs must be accurately defined,and the upper limit must be precisely Drawing the Diagram—The Head stated with reference to points of the anatomy (e.g., The description should begin at the forehead and white to mid-pastern, white to upper third of can- move down the nasal bone, muzzle, lips, and chin. non, etc.). The use of such terms as “sock” or

96 2007 ր Vol. 53 ր AAEP PROCEEDINGS MEDICINE—EXERCISE “stocking” are not acceptable. Some examples of ● Whorls: whorls are indicated by an “X.” If acceptable terms are the whorl is elongated, it is shown by a continuous line from the “X.” ● white coronet ● Black Spots and Marks: black spots or marks ● white pastern on the coat, or within a white mark or flesh ● white fetlock mark, must be outlined in black and left ● white half cannon unshaded. ● white from knee to hock, to hind quarter, etc. ● Scars: scars from surgery, treatment, or acci- ● white patch on coronet. Its location must be dents are indicated by arrows pointing at their specified: anterior, lateral, medial, or location. posterior. ● Brand Marks: brand marks should be drawn ● white ring around limb that does not extend in black. If the shape is not visible, the brand down to the coronet. is considered a scar and indicated with an arrow. The presence of colored spots in white marks ● The Prophet’s Thumb Mark: this mark is in- should be recorded. Black spots in a white coronet dicated by a small triangle. are referred to as Ermine marks and are drawn with a black pen. Most Common Errors Any variation in the hoof pigment from black The most common errors include a diagram and should be noted. Lack of pigmentation is noted by description that do not match, obligate whorls that coloring in the white areas with a red pen. If the are not drawn or not described, white or striated feet hoof diagram is not colored red, then the hoof is that are not drawn in or not described, left and right assumed to be pigmented (black). sides that are reversed, and colors that are wrong. Drawing the Diagram—White Marks Every marking on the diagram must be described in words in the description. Everything described When using a red ball-point pen, everything white in the description must be drawn on the diagram. on the horse must be shown in red on the diagram It sounds simple, but it takes a lot of double checking and more than one set of eyes for reviewing. ● White Marks: white marks must be clearly Often, the FEI veterinarian is the second set of eyes outlined with their irregularities indicated and really checking a passport against the actual horse. without shading. They may be lightly hatched The U.S. NF has a passport coordinator who checks in, if desired. every single passport, but he/she does not have the ● Bordered Marks: a white bordered mark has benefit of being able to see the horse. a definite outline that is bluish and corresponds to the black skin under the white hairs. Obligate Whorls Bordered markings are indicated by a double 1 line. The FEI guide states that there are three obligate ● Few White Hairs: a few white hairs or grey- whorls on every horse, and they must be shown on ticked areas are indicated by single short lines. every passport. These are the whorl(s) on the fore- The presence of white hairs in the mane and head and the whorls on the left and right crest. tail should be indicated with red lines. A whorl is defined as an area where the hair changes ● Unpigmented, Non–Hair-Covered Areas: ar- direction from a single point. It is not where the eas such as flesh marks, wall-eyes, or white on hair comes together (as in a tuft of hair) but where the hooves are entirely colored in red. all the hair disseminates from a single point (as in a ● White Patches: large white patches on pie- cowlick). It looks like a whirlwind with a central bald or skewbald horses should be hatched in vortex devoid of hair. Nearly every horse’s hair or line shaded to differentiate them from dark goes forward at the poll and backwards at the whith- patches. Do not hatch in areas that are easily ers. As such, somewhere in between, there must be discernable as to which area is white, such as a change of direction, specifically a whorl. Often, white on lower legs, single white spots or the crest whorls are found under the halter at the patches, star/stripe/snip areas, etc. poll. In many, many years of examining passports, ● Permanent white marks: acquired in the coat I have only seen one horse who does not have all from trauma, freeze branding, surgery, etc., three obligate whorls. should be indicated in the diagram like other Sinuous whorls are whorls that are elongated (i.e., white marks and may also be indicated by a the hair continues whorling in a line). The hair black arrow pointing at their location. starts spinning at one end (shown by an “X”), extends in a line (shown by a line), and dies out at the Drawing the Diagram—Black other end. A sinuous whorl starts at one end and When using a black ball-point pen, everything that goes toward the other, but it cannot have an “X” at is not white must be shown using black ink. both ends.

AAEP PROCEEDINGS ր Vol. 53 ր 2007 97 MEDICINE—EXERCISE Hooves tion of the month. For example, 11 May 2007 is Many veterinarians incorrectly put “white to fet- preferred; 5/11/07 is not acceptable. lock” and just draw a line across the fetlock. As a The current FEI rules state specific fines that result, there are no markings on the hoof or descrip- must be levied for various levels of infraction of the tion otherwise, and the hoof is defined as entirely influenza rules. The requirement and the fine black. Keep in mind that no indication means amounts are specifically mandated in the rules and black, a red line around means white hair, and are not the veterinarian’s decision. Make sure that filled-in red means unpigmented with no hair. the horse’s owner does not get fined by following The hooves must be filled in with red pen if they are these vaccination requirements to the letter. all white or drawn in with red indicating where they are striated. Many horses are white from cannon Other Vaccinations to coronet but have black hooves. Because there are no FEI requirement for vaccinations other than influenza, there are very few pass- Left/Right port pages devoted to other vaccinations. The most If you become very experienced with passports, then common pages to fill up completely are the other you will never mix up left and right on the diagrams. vaccination pages. Most people, however, occasionally reverse the The other vaccinations are only required when sides. Pay close attention to proper left/right documenting vaccination for travel to a different marking. continent or to provide explanation for a specific titer, also generally for foreign travel. When pages Ink Pens are running low, it is often best to keep track of Passports must be drawn in ink from a ball-point vaccinations, including lot numbers and expiration pen (not from a felt tip pen or roller-ball pen). Keep dates, in a separate log book. If there ever is a need in mind the consequences of the passport getting to enter the other vaccinations, then the information wet. Many events take place rain or shine, and is available, and the space for such entries is also horses are always around water. A passport with a still available. pink diagram page with no discernable markings is not useful. Laboratory Test Results In the official FEI event schedule, an event may Influenza Vaccination require a certain result of a specific lab test as a Currently, the only vaccination requirement that prerequisite to entry. If so, this information must the FEI has is for influenza vaccination. Accord- be entered into the passport. If it is not specifically ingly, there are numerous pages for entry of the flu required in the official schedule (Prize List), then it vaccinations. is not required to be in the passport. In the United The current rule states that there must be an States, Coggins’ Agar Gel Immuno Diffusion (AGID) initial vaccination pair with one vaccination and test (for Equine Infections Anemia [EIA]) is the most then a booster between 21 and 92 days later. This common laboratory test requirement in official corresponds to 3 wk–3 mo. The current rule also schedules. states that there must be a booster within 364 days until January 1st, 2005 and within 6 mo and 21 days 3. Complete after the preceding booster. The general way to If you have followed this how-to guide step by step, review this section is to find the initial pair; then, you have now completed your portion of the pass- find each booster: Ͻ12 mo (up to 2004) and Ͻ6mo port. Return it to the owner so that they can send (after 2004). it back to their NF for validation. Congratulations. The horse’s veterinarian should enter the influ- Reference enza vaccinations when they are given. Remember 1. “Identification of horses with the narrative and the diagram” that the date is not month/day/year but day/month/ 4th edition 2000, printed in Switzerland. Copyright © 2000 year. Make sure that there is no mistaking what Fe´de´ration Equestre Internationale. Available at http:// you mean by writing out the three-letter abbrevia- fei.ch/veterinary/PDFS/ID-e.pdf.

98 2007 ր Vol. 53 ր AAEP PROCEEDINGS