Records to have ready when you sell a horse

A sale moves faster when the paperwork is ready before the first call. Buyers ask for it, state rules require some of it, and a gap found late can stall a deal. This checklist covers what’s usually asked for in the United States. Rules differ between states, so check with your state’s animal health office and the buyer’s.

Required, or close to it

• A negative Coggins test. A Coggins is the blood test for equine infectious anemia (EIA). US Equestrian says every state requires a negative Coggins before a horse crosses state lines. Montana State University Extension notes that states also require one when a horse changes ownership, enters a show, or sells at auction. How recent it must be varies: six months, twelve months, or the calendar year.
• A health certificate for travel. If the horse is leaving the state, it usually needs a Certificate of Veterinary Inspection (CVI) from a licensed veterinarian. Most states want it written within 30 days of travel.
• Registration papers and the transfer. If the horse is registered, the buyer becomes the owner of record only when the registry processes a transfer. Each registry has its own form and fee, and the seller usually signs.
• A bill of sale. It names the horse, the buyer and seller, the price, and the date. Keep a signed copy.

What careful buyers ask for

• Vaccination and deworming history, with dates and products.
• Veterinary records: past injuries, surgeries, lameness workups, and anything a pre-purchase exam might raise. The pre-purchase exam itself is usually the buyer’s to arrange, with their own vet.
• Farrier and dental notes, especially for special shoeing or recurring issues.
• Genetic test results that matter for the breed, with the lab report itself. For Quarter Horses and related breeds, buyers often ask for a disease panel such as UC Davis’s, which covers conditions including HYPP, HERDA, GBED, MH, and PSSM1. Our guide to reading a genetic test result explains what the letters mean.
• Performance or show records, and recent photos and video.

Make every document easy to trust

A document helps a sale only if the buyer can match it to the horse. For each one:

• make sure it names the horse the way the papers do, with the registration number or microchip where there is one;
• keep the original, or a clear scan of it, and not just a note of the result;
• check the date, since a Coggins or health certificate that has run out doesn’t count.

Where two documents disagree, such as a different birth date or a different sire, sort it out before a buyer finds it.

Where AnimalTrace fits

AnimalTrace keeps a horse’s documents together on one record, each as it was issued, so they’re ready when a buyer asks. It’s free for up to 5 animals.

Sources

• US Equestrian, Interstate travel
• Montana State University Extension, Equine infectious anemia
• UC Davis Veterinary Genetics Laboratory, Quarter Horse & Related Breeds Disease Panel