Why don't people transfer horses

[Orkie]

This question has always come to my mind. Why don't people transfer their horses when they buy them? I sold 3 horses several months ago and still have not been transfered to their new owners. Is it a money thing? Or the people just don't care about the papers? I mean this is something I do right off the bat when I buy a horse. I think there are so many minis out in the world that either aren't reg.; the paperwork isn't up to date or some kind of paper is lost through the wood work.

 

[gorgeous]

Well, I certainly cannot speak for anyone but myself but the only horse we did not transfer is our gelding Rocky. He is A and R and at the time we bought him we didn't have any other R horses and we weren't members of R. Now, years later, we have lots of R horses and all of them have been transferred. I guess I really should bite the bullet and send the papers in even though it has been probably 7 or 8 years since we bought him. We do still have a signed transfer so it shouldn't be a problem.

I think lots of people just want pets and aren't interested in paying membership and transfer fees.

 

[minimomNC]

If someone bought a horse as a pet, they usually don't do the transfers. The money thing may come into play if they are not already a member of the association, so instead of just transfers they also have to pay for membership. It can add up fast. There are always reasons for people to not transfer immediately.

 

[Frankie]

Well, I can only speak for me. Two weeks ago I thought, I need to check horse papers, mainly to bring permanent. I went oops,,about 8 times.

So I got 6 taken care of and one was a 5 month ago transfer. Will take care of the others shortly. Time gets by me working 60 hour weeks and having a busy teenager. I couldn't believe it had already been 5 months! I REALLY drag my feet when it comes to AMHA. I only have a few, and I only show R, so it isn't high on my list.

Besides, I'd rather be spending time with them, not their papers.

 

[Champ]

I have 2 geldings that I never transfered the papers on for a few different reasons, (1) I show at ADT & CDE's which don't require registered horses (2) they're geldings & (3) money... I didn't do one of them right away so it would cost a lot now to register him and the other only has his baby papers so this too would cost me a lot.

 

[Relic]

l know for myself having bought 11 A/R registered minis the last few years and with the AMHA transfers l'm fairly fast within weeks but when it comes to the R transfers l am years behind on at least half of them...okay out of 11 have only send in 5 so far one l signed at the breeders and she sent it in for me...told me it was for her piece of mind. AMHR isn't very active up this way so l just feel l have plenty of time to do the transfers when l bring them perm as they were all weaners. l did do the adults l bought last fall right away because l got heck from that breeder for being slack on the R side..

 

[End Level Farms]

For me its I simply run out of time.

I have all my horses and none of them are transferred. I need to get on that. Im going to start sending them in one at a time on payday. And slowly get them done that way.

Mostly its because I forget the dang pictures.

It was great when AMHR didn't require the pictures.

I get everything ready to send in and CRAP forget it. Then get busy doing stuff and months later find everything and CRAP again get it all RE READY to send. And again forget to take it Fiance puts it away and we both forget.

 

[wildoak]

I understand there are lots of reasons folks don't transfer papers, but have to admit it drives me nuts to look up my sold horses and see them still in my name years later.

I like to see papers and pedigree stay with the horse. How often does someone post on here to say can you help me find out who this horse is..... I've considered paying for transfers on horses I sell, just to get it done. I will send registration photos with the horse if I have current ones.

The pictures are a pain in the rear, I agree, but I've given up trying to get really good photos for the most part. Much more likely to get it done if I don't have to clip, wash and groom them lol.

Jan

 

[keystonefarm]

Hi all, I am sure it is usually an oops --I haven't gotten around to it most of the time. Then others don't want to spend the $ if they just want a pet. I do have to recommend that the seller of the horse pay for and turn in the transfer themselves if possible. I have done this with most of the horses that I have sold. The reason is I have heard that if the horse has not been transferred, it is possible that whoever’s name is on that horses papers still holds liability for any damage that horse may cause.

Someone told me a story once about this actually happening to someone. When I talked to my insurance agent he told me that it was possible If the seller could not prove there was a change in ownership. If the new owner will let me, I take the pictures needed before the horse leaves the farm, give the new owner a copy of the transfer, wait until their check clears the bank, and then I send AMHA the transfer and payment. I have never had a problem with the buyer allowing me to do this and it has worked great so far.

 

[Minimor]

It would bug me no end to have papers that were never transferred--I try to get mine done within a couple months of purchasing the horse--I figure it's cheaper to do them right away than to set them aside & forget about them & end up paying a late fee. The other thing is, I always think that if something should happen--say house burns down--if the papers are in my name it's simple enough to replace them. If the papers haven't been transferred I would then have to go back to the seller & have them order replacement papers and provide me with another transfer. Hopefully such a thing will never happen, but if it did, that would be just too much hassle.

But, I know plenty of people that don't bother to transfer papers. Often they just want a pet & don't care at all about papers. If they don't show and don't breed, then papers aren't worth the money it takes to transfer them. I know one person that is just tickled to have her first ever purebred, registered horse, and yet she has never transferred his papers. Actually she hasn't even picked up the papers from the seller. Horse was bought on payments, taken home right away, final payment was dropped off in mailbox--seller asked for her address to mail the papers and she said oh that's okay, she'd stop & pick them up one day. Never has. I know the seller & he commented one day that he hd never seen anyone so thrilled to have a registered horse and yet not want to even pick up the papers. Weird to me too--I'd sure want to have them in my possession. But this person doesn't show or breed & doesn't have a lot of money, so probably isn't interested in spending the money just to have the papers in her name.

I do think more people would transfer the papers if the registries didn't require a membership to do the work. Same with bringing a horse permanent. With AMHR for instance, how is it worth it to a pet owner to pay $65 (or $76 for us here in Canada) in order to spend the $5 it takes to bring their horse permanent? If they could pay a $10 or $15 non-member fee, more would surely bring their horses permanent, and if a $15 transfer cost $25 or $30 for a non-member, more would probably pay that too.

 

[End Level Farms]

Definately. If I could pay non members rates slightly higher I would have had everything transferred at once.

However when I add up all the cost of paper work and pictures ect Im looking at over $500 between two associations for 3 mares 1 stallion and 2 foal registries. Plus one old stallion service report. Its not the transfers themselves that bankrupt a person its the MEMBERSHIPS. Specially for us Canadians. Also when I bought all my horses the Canadian dollar was so far in the dumps. Now Im only looking at approximately 300ish. And the dollar is almost at par. So I am trying to get caught up before the dollar tanks again.

 

[GeorgeandHumble]

I've had Humble for two years and still haven't sent in his papers. My reason is that on his temp registration it mentions that the temp can't become permanent until after his 3rd birthday. I think a lot of people like me just don't know or understand the registration process. If it were made less confussing we'd know whether or not to send in the paperwork right away or wait. It would be nice if the registries made a little registration instruction booklet for sellers to give to buyers so that those of us who have never registered a horse would know what to do. It would also help if the instructions were written in simple english.

I see where the membership fee for the registries would be a problem for a lot of people. I went to one of the registry sites the other day to scope out the membership fee and when I saw the fee I wondered how some people coulod afford to join. I thought there would be a family membership but only found where each additional person was $20.00 and that was on top of the $65.00 for the first membership. It leaves a person to think only high society can afford to be a member of horse registries. I would think a family membership of $25.00 to $30.00 would be more realistic and encourage more people to join.

 

[wildoak]

if the horse has not been transferred, it is possible that whoever’s name is on that horses papers still holds liability for any damage that horse may cause.

A correctly dated bill of sale should take care of that.

It can be overwhelming at first to figure out the jumble of papers, what to send, when to send it, and those pictures....! You can go to the breeds website and print out whatever paperwork you need, and if there are questions you can always call the registry. I've found AMHA and AMHR both to be very helpful. I've called them with plenty of dumb questions over the years, which they patiently answered.

My only small paperwork gripe is that I wish the two registries would get together and require the same photos.

Jan

 

[Songcatcher]

I thought I had a solution to new owners not transfering papers into their name. On my sales page, and in my ads, I have put

At Songcatcher Ranch, we want to make your purchase and ownership as easy as possible. Any horse purchased at listed price will include AMHA and AMHR registration and the cost of transfering the horse into your name. If you are not already a member of AMHA or AMHR, we will also fill out all paperwork necessary for you to join and pay your first year's membership in the registry of your choice. If you are already a member of AMHA and AMHR, or if you are only wanting a pet, the price can be discounted accordingly. We will continue to help you with any questions you may have regarding registry work or general care of your horse as long as you need.

So far, it has not had any influence. People who have bought from me have either already been members or they simply are not interested in papers.

I guess when I update my website I will remove that paragraph. I will still assist any new owner with doing their own paperwork.

 

[~Lisa~]

I try to do my paperwork once a year I have some to get done and will as soon as Raven gets home to help with pictures.

I have ALOT of AMHA paperwork I never did or kept up with I am not a member and do not show AMHA

 

[Karen S]

Personally for me it's not a problem anymore. When I sell a horse, I give the new owners a copy of the registration papers and "I" do all of the paperwork to transfer those horse's out of my name and into the new owners. I also give them a packet with work order forms, new member forms, amateur forms, youth forms and anything else that they might need just in case they decide the join the registry.

The other problem if "You" don't do it....if at any time you decide to run for a directors position, the office counts how many miniatures or how many Shetlands you have to determine if you are qualified to run with the 50% rule. I know of folks who have had signed, notorize documentation proving that they no longer own those horses. It can become a headache. If your horse goes through a sale, you have no control over transferring them out of your name. You need to hang on to that paperwork proving you sold those horse through xyz sale. This will allow the office to update your files.....also one other....if a horse dies on your place....please let the registries know as they can put deceased on those papers so you can still track the pedigress.

Hope this helps.

Karen

 

[Minimor]

I was thinking of a non-member fee in terms of the person who buys one mini as a pet. I don't see it being a benefit to anyone that has a lot of registry work to do--a breeder for instance. The extra cost of non-member fees adds up, so if you have 2 transfers, 2 permanents and 3 foal registrations to do in a year I would think that the membership is worth the price of it? It always has been for me, in spite of the fact that I don't do a lot of registry work.

 

[palsminihorses]

I do like some of the others do...............If the purchaser is not a member of either registry, I go ahead and transfer the horse into their name for them. I learned after selling my first colt that people don't transfer the paperwork. That horse still shows up in my name.

Pam C.

 

[BBH]

The paper work not being transferred is a pet peeve of mine. In looking for a 2nd mini there are certain things I am looking for .... up to date paper work is one of them. I have been told things in response to questions about advertised horses.....he didn't need a coggins as he wasn't going anyplace, he was just a pet......okay those are acceptable...but now they want to sell for alot more than market these days and they can't be bothered to tell me about breeding on papers, they can't find them, the dog chewed them up, not even a bill of sale from last owners. One lady said she had all the paperwork and it was a blank transfer form period...no signature nothing.

I have always felt any registered animal deserves to have it's paperwork kept up to date and in some cases gives it more of a chance of getting a good/forever home. Now days there seem to be alot of desperate folks out there though.....which is sad.

I am currently looking for the filly of my mare someplace in Greenville, TX area and the transfer was never done....so looking for a filly in a haystack.

Doing the paperwork for the new owners as the seller of a horse is a great idea and would certainly be a big plus.

 

[LostCreekFarm]

Hey everyone! I am new to this forum and to minis! I don't mean to hijack this thread but I have a question regarding transfering paperwork as well. I just got my mini last week, she has her temporary papers as she is only two years old. Her transfer papers have her breeder listed as her seller even though she's been through two other owners since she left the breeder! I am not sure what to do. I have a bill of sale from the lady I purchased her from. I am going to call AMHA and see what I need to do but I would appreciate any advice, I want to get her properly registered. Thank you!