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Our Association > Registration > About Registration

We know how much everyone loves registration paperwork and that it can be confusing at times. So, we have a solution! A step by step guide on 'How To Register Your Horse.' We hope that this will be a useful resource to you throughout the years. Every form that you could possibly need, is explained and contained in this guide. Our forms are also all available online or in print by calling 817.783.5600. We are here to help you through this process, so if you would like further assistance or need some information, please call us at 817.783.5600 or email registration@amha.org

Before you begin, to register a Horse with the AMHA, you must be a current member. Not a member yet? No problem, you can just fill out the application and send it in along with your registration paperwork. PLEASE NOTE: A Youth Membership does not have registration privileges.

 

 

 

STEP 1 - REGISTRATION APPLICATION

 

For detailed instructions on how to complete the registration form, please click here.

A Registration Application should be filled out for all foals. The most economical option for registering your horses is to do so before 4 months of age. Registration forms are fillable online, but must be printed, signed, and mailed to the AMHA office. If your foal is 24 months and older, it must be DNA tested and Parent qualified.

Please send in a completed AMHA Customer Work Order with ALL work. Payment must be included, or work will not be started

Registration fees are as follows: 

​FEE (USD)

$25.00

$30.00

$35.00

$45.00

$60.00

$10.00

​AGE

Birth - 4 Months

Over 4 months - 8 months

Over 8 months - 12 months

Over 12 months - 24 months

Over 24 months *Parent Qualification Required*

Gelding (at any age if already gelded)

REGISTRATION SECTION 1:

1. Choose a name for your horse. Registered names cannot exceed 35 characters including spaces, and punctuation is not allowed. Once a horse is named, that is it! You or a future owner cannot rename this horse, so pick carefully! 

(Name info:  Most AMHA horses carry a farm prefix or farm name at the beginning of their names. This is not required, but does help you build recognition for the breeding program at your farm. If you would like to reserve a farm prefix for your exclusive use, you can apply for a Prefix Reservation 

Another common naming option to consider is to include part of the sire or dam's name in the foal's name. Typically it is the sire's name that is used to reflect in the foals he produces. But if a mare's bloodline has a highly respected show horse lineage, or she has produced a show winner previously, you might see her name reflected in the foal's name also.

If you would rather have the AMHA select a name for your horse, or have us name the horse if your first two choices are not available, please just mark the box that says 'Yes, I authorize the AMHA to select a name if the above choices are unavailable or objectionable.

PLEASE NOTE: If the owner/lessee of the dam at the time of foaling fails to register the foal, the owner/lessee forfeits the right to name the offspring.

2. Determine your horse’s height, sex, foaling date, and gelding date (if applicable) Need help determining your horse's height? Click here for the How To Measure guide.

3. Determine your horse’s coat color.  Each of the options listed on the form have a drop down submenu of the color patterns that the AMHA recognizes. A horse's coat color can change with age, and the AMHA does allow you to correct the color of your horse if needed. If you need to correct the color of your horse, you will need to submit the original certificate and current photos. Selecting a horses color can sometimes be overwhelming. If you do not feel as though you are sure of what color your horse is, please just mark the 'Yes, I authorize the AMHA to designate the color as represented by photographs submitted. Several of our staff members have been identifying coat colors for more than 15 years and would be happy to assist you. For more information and examples of horse color, please click here. 

4. Now that you have identified the color of your horse, it is time to note any white leg or face markings that make it unique. This is just one more way that helps identify your horse throughout its life. PLEASE NOTE: If your horse is a Pinto or a Pintaloosa, the AMHA does not record the leg or facial markings. We use the body white on those horses to identify them. If your horse is Pinto or Pintaloosa, you can skip this step. For examples of markings, please click here

5. PARENTAGE INFORMATION The following information on the Registration Application

is required. Please be sure to complete all of the information requested in this section with current AMHA information. If you do not know the AMHA registered name or number of the sire or dam, we may be able to help you locate it. Just call 817.783.5600 or email us.

 

Some important items to note:

  • If you purchased a mare in foal, please be sure to Transfer the mare into your name PRIOR to trying to register the foal.

  • Please note that if eligible, the sire and dam must have been brought Permanent before the foal can be registered.

  • The sire and dam of any foal applying for AMHA Registration MUST have been DNA tested  if born after 1996. In addition, any stallion that has bred 5 or more mares within one breeding year, must be DNA tested.

  • You can call us at 817.783.5600 to verify if this has been done.

  • The recorded owner of the Dam's information MUST BE provided here. If you did not own the Dam at the time of foaling, you must have the recorded owner complete this section.

  • BREEDERS PLEASE NOTE: This is a step that delays many new foal registrations. If you plan to sell a horse that has not yet been registered, please provide the new owner with this section of the form completed.

REGISTRATION SECTION 2: 

BREEDERS SERVICE CERTIFICATE

PLEASE NOTE: If you owned BOTH the mare and the stallion at the time of breeding, you can skip this section. If you did not own BOTH the mare and the stallion at the time of breeding, the following information must be provided.

If you bred your mare to someone else's stallion (an outside stallion), you may have already received a Breeders Service Certificate. If so, please just submit it along with the Registration Application. If you have a Breeders Service Certificate to submit, you do not have to fill this section out.

PLEASE NOTE When asked to list the dates of the breeding season, please ensure that they match with those submitted on the Stallion Breeding Report.

REGISTRATION SECTION 3:

OWNERSHIP TRANSFER AND HEIGHT CERTIFICATION

For a full list of transfer requirements, please refer to the Ownership Transfer Form.

This section of the Registration Application does not need to be completed unless you are selling the foal at the time of registration. If you are selling the horse at the same time, it is being registered, all of the following information must be submitted. Please be sure to list the date of transfer. At the time of sale/transfer, the buyer and seller must agree on the height of the horse. Once the registration transaction has been completed, the Registration Certificate will be sent to the buyer. Please note that a transfer fee applies.

 

Step 2: Photos are required for registration and Temporary to Permanent Status. They are not required for Transfers of Ownership.

The Photo Submission Form is optional and will not work for many web browsers.  You may simply email the photos to pam@amha.org

  • All applications and Temp to Perm transactions MUST BE accompanied by AT LEAST FOUR (4) CURRENT color photographs showing all markings.

  • Photos should be color and of regular size. They do not need to be on photographic paper

  • The four photographs must be as follows: Left side, Right side, Headshot 1, Rear

  • The head shot must be of the head facing the camera WITH THE FORELOCK PULLED COMPLETELY ASIDE SO THE ENTIRE FLAT OF THE FACE IS CLEARLY VISIBLE.

  • The side shots must show the entire horse from ears to hooves.

 

Here are some examples of acceptable photos.

Example 2.jpg

RIGHT SIDE

Example 3.jpg

HEADSHOT 1

Example 1.jpg

LEFT SIDE

Rear_edited.jpg

REAR

HOW TO TRANSFER A HORSE INTO YOUR NAME

  • Make sure the horse you are buying has an original certificate of registration with AMHA. Our certificates have the photo of the horse on the back of the certificate. Do not accept a photocopy. Purchasing horses "sold on application" (not registered yet, Seller provides a registration application to the Buyer) is risky and we strongly recommend that you contact us with the details before completing your purchase. Please make sure the horse is registered in the name of the person you are buying it from. If you have any doubts, please contact our office and we will check on the status of the horse. Be sure to measure the horse's height with the seller because the Owner Transfer form has a place where both parties sign attesting to the height of the horse.

  • Obtain an Owner Transfer form from the Seller or print one out and bring it with you. Our newer certificates have this on the back side. The Buyer must fully complete the Buyer's section. If ownership is to be listed as John Doe and Jane Doe, both parties must sign at Signature of Buyer. If the horse is to be in the name of John Doe or Jane Doe, only one party must sign as Buyer.  The same goes for the Seller's portion; it must be completely filled out by the Seller and all signatures must be present if the horse is owned by more than one person and the word and is used.  Whenever possible, please type in the boxes of the form.  Please also make sure the height, date transferred, and date measured are filled out. Incomplete forms cannot be processed and will greatly delay your paperwork. 

  • Be sure to send us the original certificate of registration, the completed Transfer of Ownership signed by all parties, a completed Work Order, and the appropriate fee.  We do not need photos for Ownership Transfers unless the horse must also go Permanent. Consider becoming a member of AMHA as many transactions are cheaper if you are a member. We accept US checks/money orders, credit cards, and PayPal. 

WHAT'S NEXT?

Once you have completed the Registration Application form and have your four current photographs ready to submit, send them to us and we'll take it from here! A list of current fees can be found on the AMHA Work Order form and please be sure to submit full payment. We only accept checks and money orders drawn on US banks. Other payment methods accepted are credit cards and PayPal. If you wish to pay with PayPal, we must send you a PayPal invoice first. Applications will not be processed until paid for in full. PLEASE NOTE: Once received, the average turnaround time on applications varies greatly. An accurate and fully completed application on average will take 14 - 21 days to be returned. Throughout the year, certain high-volume periods do occur, and will increase the turnaround times.

 

BUYER BEWARE!

Please read about the potential scams and threats you should be aware of when buying your horse. 

Buyer Beware. Those words should strike fear in the hearts of every new horse owner. Because unfortunately our horse market is very similar to the used car business, a new sucker is born every 15 minutes! There are many unscrupulous horse owners just waiting to pounce on an infatuated new mini person, fleecing the sale with promises of a registerable horse when nothing could be further from the truth.

No one hears more of these tales of woe, than the AMHA Registration Supervisor, Pam Pruitt. Having worked in the registration department for over 10 years she has ample bad situations to choose from, but she shares some of the most common scenarios of new horse owner versus seller who just dumped an unregistered foal.

“It saddens us to hear the foal owner's disappointment when we have to tell them we have no record of a foal by that name, nor do we have any registered foals born that year out of that mare or by that stallion”.

Pam shares, “Typically it is the domino effect, the seller breeds his mares to one of his stallions, and then either forgets to file the stallion report or doesn't want to pay the late penalty.” And so the situation worsens. By the time the foal is born, there is no record at AMHA of the breeding, and more than likely there will be other problems by this time. An issue that is easy to sweep under the rug and catches many people off guard is the rule that both the sire and the dam MUST BE DNA TESTED, if they are breeding animals and are producing foals. Add to this the possibility the sire and dam may also be 3 years of age by now, in which case they must be brought to permanent status. If this is confusing to a breeder who has been involved with minis for some time, you can imagine the frustration of the new foal owner!

What can a “Newbie” do to avoid being “ripped off”? When buying an already registered horse, here is what you must have when you are about to sign on the dotted line…. STOP! And be sure this is what you are getting:

MUST HAVES:

An ORIGINAL certificate. Original certificates have original photos of the horse on the back and have been embossed on the front. Look closely and be sure it is the horse you are buying.

An ORIGINAL ownership transfer form with all the blanks filled in. Newer certificates have this on the back side. The horse's current height must be listed no matter the age of the horse, except in the case of weanlings.

Make sure the last recorded owner listed on the back of the certificate is the one who signs the seller section of the transfer form.

Current photos must be submitted to send in with registration applications and when a horse is going Permanent. along with the certificate. We do NOT need photos for Owner Transfers. Photos can be normal photo size, do not need to be on photographic paper and can be mailed or emailed.  Don't forget that all AMHA horses must be brought Permanent by the end of their three-year-old year. If the horse you are purchasing is older than 36 months, it may be brought permanent at the same time you do the transfer.

 

You can tell by looking at an Original Registration Certificate whether or not your horse has been brought permanent. If the certificate is white/beige, with the words Temporary Certificate of Registration across the top. If the certificate is brown, the horse has been brought permanent. Is the certificate blue? If so, read on!

 

What does a blue certificate mean?

Some of our horses are parent qualified. What that means is the sire, dam and foal have all three been DNA tested and the foal's hair was compared to the sire and dam at the lab. Voila! The parentage on the foal is proven, and a blue certificate is issued. This is most valuable as now you KNOW the horse you are buying is truly the horse represented on the pedigree. Many times a breeder will sell a foal or young horse on application. What this means is the horse is not registered; he may be eligible for registration, but no information has been verified and there are over twenty checks that are completed on each application, so many things might stop the application, many of them expensive!

 

RED FLAGS TO WATCH FOR:

  • The person listed on the back of the horse's certificate is not who you are buying the horse from. You cannot skip transfers; the seller must first transfer the horse to himself, then transfer the horse to you. You can however send in two transfers at the same time, as long as both are completely filled out and paid for.

  • The foaling date on the application shows the horse is over a year old. Typically, the longer a person waits to register the horse, the more complicated it becomes.

  • The name of the breeder on the application is not the person who is selling you the horse. (in essence, the person selling you the horse, never officially owned it)

 

If any of these scenarios sound familiar, you may hit quite a few snags when you send your paperwork in. But all is not lost. As long as the seller is willing to work with you, and will provide the information you'll need, you can still register that baby and be well on your way to a wonderful relationship with the AMHA.

 

If you are purchasing a horse and have any questions regarding its current status with the AMHA, do not hesitate to call us. If you have the name or registration number of the horse, we can help you verify information.

AMHA

About Registration 

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