Horse identification and control

If you own or keep a horse, you must follow certain rules, for example, rules about microchipping, licencing and identification for your horse.

These rules apply to all members of the horse family, including ponies, donkeys and crosses, officially known as equine animals.

You are responsible for any injury or damage caused by your horse to other people or to property.

Your horse must have the following identification:

• An equine (horse) passport
• A microchip implant, which links the animal to the passport
• A Unique Equine Life Number (UELN)

You must also have a horse license if you are keeping your horse in a control area. Control areas are places that are set by your local authority.

You can buy a horse passport from an approved Passport Issuing Organisation (PIO). The passport lasts for the horses lifetime.

The passport shows the:

• Identity of the horse
• Microchip number (if it has one)
• Unique Equine Life Number (UELN)

The passport will also say if the horse is to be farmed for horsemeat for human consumption. This is because the horse cannot be given certain types of medication if it will be farmed for horsemeat.

You should not buy a horse that does not have a passport.

When do I get a horse passport?

If your horse was born in the Republic of Ireland, you must get its passport either:

• Before the 31 December in the year it was born
• Within 6 months of the day it is born

For example, a horse born in May, must have a passport by 31 December of that year. A horse born in October must have a passport within 6 months, so this means by April of the following year.

If you are taking a foal from the holding where it was born, it must be microchipped and have a passport.

However, you will not need a passport for the foal if it is:

• Under 12 months old
• Not yet weaned
• Accompanied by its mother (dam or foster mare)

If you sell or give your horse to someone else, you must give the new owner the passport and they must register the change of ownership with the appropriate PIO.

If your horse is over 12 months old and does not have a passport, you can still apply for one. However, this ‘late registration’ means you will only get a duplicate or replacement passport. So, the horse can never be sold as horsemeat in the food chain.

What happens my horse’s passport after they die?

When your horse dies, you should return its passport to the PIO so that its details on the database can be updated.

The slaughter plant or knackery will take the passport and send it back to the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.

If you are importing a horse into Ireland from another EU country, it will need a valid passport.

If you are importing a horse into Ireland from outside the EU, it will need a passport that is accepted by the EU.

If you are importing a horse from any other country and it does not have a passport, you must apply to the PIO for a passport within 30 days of the horse arriving in Ireland.

You must bring the horses’ passport whenever the horse is being moved, inside Ireland or to another state.

You can read more about what health import requirements and veterinary certification you may need when moving country with your horse.

Your horse must be microchipped if its passport was issued after 1 July 2009.

The microchip is a tiny computer chip that a vet implants under the horses skin of the horse so it can be identified.

Only a vet can implant the microchip. The information on the microchip links the horse to the horse’s passport and to the details registered on the PIO’s database.

Your vet will charge a fee for microchipping your horse.

You must have a horse license if your horse is kept in a control area. A control area is a specific place designated by a local authority in their Control of Horses Byelaws and may include all of or part of the area the local authority is responsible for.

When the local authority is making bye-laws, it must give details of the proposed control areas in local newspapers. Contact your local authority to get more information on control areas for horses.

Your local authority keeps a register of all horse licences they issue.

How do I get a horse licence?

You can apply to your local authority for a horse licence. You will need:

• A completed application form available from your local authority
• The fee

Your local authority will want to check that you meet the standards to keep a horse. For example, that your horse will be properly cared for and stabled.

If someone under 16 owns a horse, the head of the household is considered the owner of the horse, as horses can’t be sold to anyone under 16.

You can ride your horse on a public road, but you must bring your horse licence if you are riding in a designated control area. You must follow the rules of the road for horse riding.

You can find information about horse safety on the road, and a booklet on Horse Road Safety on Public Roads (pdf) from the Road Safety Authority.

If you take your horse into a public place, you must make sure that it is under your control and you are not breaking any laws. This includes bye-laws from your local authority.

Inspection and offences

You must allow the Gardaí to inspect your horse if they ask to do so. You can also be asked to show your horse licence. The Gardaí have extensive powers to search and arrest if they suspect cruelty to horses.

You can be arrested without a warrant for most of these offences. If you are found guilty, you can be fined or put in prison (or both) and you can be banned from keeping a horse for some time.

The local authority may take and deal with the horse as they see fit.

Read about the laws on horses in the Control of Horses 1996 Act.

Stray or abandoned horses

Your horse can be seized, detained or put down if it is:

• In a control area without a licence,
• Abandoned or stray
• Causing a nuisance or posing a danger

If your horse has been found wandering 3 times within a 12-month period, it can be seized and you will not get it back.

Check with your local authority for details of its charges for horse licences and for reclaiming a seized horse.

If you suspect animal cruelty, you should report it to the:

• Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ISPCA)
  • By email: helpline@ispca.ie
  • By phone: 0818 515515 (in emergencies)
  • On the ISPCA website
• Dublin Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (DSPCA)
  • By email: cruelty@dspca.ie
  • By phone: 01 4994700
  • On the DSPCA website
• Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine National Animal Welfare Helpline
  • By email: animalwelfare@agriculture.gov.ie
  • By phone: 01 607 2379

You can ring your local Garda station in emergencies.

You can also contact your local authority.

The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has published information on horse registration and passports, including a series of FAQs and a leaflet (pdf).

Teagasc have a list of laws relating to horse ownership.