Eligibility and Hardship

Eligibility for Registration with BMHS

Any miniature horse bred from two BMHS registered parents is automatically eligible for stud-book registration.

Any adult miniature horse (3 years and over), without two BMHS main studbook registered parents, can go onto the Breeding Only section of the stud book, subject to assessment, through the hardship procedure and will not be eligible for affiliated showing.
Any horse with one main registered parent can go onto the Part Bred Appendix and is eligible for affiliated showing. (See Part Bred Register)

Please note - that offspring born from two Breeding Only registered parents will only be eligible for the Breeding Only Register themselves and can only be registered on the Main Studbook via Star Seekers (see 'Showing' 'Star Seekers'). Offspring born from one Breeding Only registered parent and one Main Studbook parent is eligible for registration onto the Main Studbook.

Eligibility for full registration depends on the following:-

The horse must have an Equine Passport. If you require a passport, see our Passport section. If you already have a passport, then you will need to send a photocopy of Sections 1,2, 3, and silhouette.

Only the proven offspring of two BMHS main studbook registered parents are automatically eligible for BMHS Stud Book registration. This is a DEFRA instruction for all recognised Stud Books. To be proven offspring:-

1. Mating must be recorded with BMHS. This is done when a Stallion Breeding Report is filled out by the owner of the stallion at the time of covering, and sent to the BMHS head office prior to the foal's birth.

2. The foal must be identified at foot by a veterinary surgeon before it is 6 months old (this is usually done at the same time as microchipping).

3. If these two conditions are not available, then DNA testing will be required. See the page on Breeding Reports and DNA.
 
If your miniature horse does not have two registered BMHS parents, and is 3 years old or over, then it can still be registered for breeding only, through hardship assessment. (See below.)

If you have any queries relating to eligibility then please contact the BMHS Head Office.


Hardship Assessment Procedure 

Horses must be at least 3 years old before they can be put forward for assessment.
Assessments usually take place in small groups; each horse is thoroughly examined by a team of assessors who each give an independent score, which are combined to give an overall percentage mark. The teams are usually made up of at least one show judge, an experienced breeder and a committee member wherever possible.
An example Horse Assessment Sheet is in the 'Downloads' button on this website.

In addition to the assessment, your horse will be given a veterinary inspection to ensure its soundness, and that it carries no hereditary faults (this is mandatory). 

Any horse scoring 50% or less is not eligible for Stud Book registration.

The following scale is used for horses scoring more than 50%:

Up to and including 60% – the full hardship fee is payable.
Up to and including 70% – one half of the hardship fee is payable.
Up to and including 80% – one quarter of the hardship fee is payable.
Up to and including 90% – normal registration fee is payable.
Above 90% – no additional fee is required.

Hardship fees are published annually along with dates of pre-arranged assessments. The full cost of assessment will vary depending upon the amount charged by the attending veterinary surgeon but is normally between £100 and £150. 

You are under no obligation to register your horse once an assessment has been carried out but if you wish to do so it must be within six months of the date of the assessment.

If you are unable to attend one of the published assessment days but still wish your horse to be assessed, please notify the office of your interest so that further assessment dates and suitable venues can be arranged. Due to the costs involved in running the assessments additional dates cannot be added unless there are sufficient numbers to justify the costs.
If you have a number of horses that you would like to put forward for assessment it may be possible to arrange for three assessors to visit your premises.
 
If you need any further information, then please contact the BMHS Head Office.
 


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