I hope I’m not opening up a giant worm can here, but if you have a foal which is eligible to be registered either GOV or AHS and both inspection sites are easily accessed, which registry would you choose and why? If you want to pm me your response, please do. Your answer could be as simple as “one gives better All Breeds prizes than the other” or one is more accessible by phone than the other. I don’t have any negative impression of either, just trying to pick a registry. Would your answer change if it was a filly, a stallion prospect or a gelding (frankly, I have no business running a stallion prospect, so it would be filly or gelding)?
AHS would be my choice in your circumstances. Their customer service is excellent, much easier than GOV.
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I’d choose GOV - my mare is registered with GOV and I’ve always found them to be easy to deal with - it was easy to mail in her transfer of ownership and when I had questions it was easy to call them up and talk to someone directly. That being said, I’m not as familiar with AHS and have never dealt with them.
It’s personal preference but I like that GOV microchips rather than brands although it might be optional with the AHS anyways.
It is optional with AHS now, but I prefer branding, by far. I have mares in each registry.
Why do you prefer branding? Our brand inspectors here all have chip readers. I think chip placement might be lesstraumatic for the foal?
Chip placement requires me to have my vet out to do it, with a little local pain killer, and much more expensive than branding. Branding is over in seconds and I have never had a foal react. The foal then carries a visible brand that might someday keep him out of a slaughter pen.
I honestly have serious doubts that anyone scans for a microchip every horse in trouble. I also have doubts that a microchip not appropriately placed in the nuchal ligament will stay in place in the event the horse is scanned, which is why I have a vet do it.
Yes, I understand that the world is going to microchips and the reason for it. I still like the visible brand, and maybe this year I’ll have a foal get both. But I won’t have to get the microchip in order to register the foal, which is required by GOV.
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You might consider that AHS has a full time office in the US to answer questions and work with. That with AHS you have two registry options for one membership fee, Hanover and Rhineland which covers just about any stallion choice. AHS offers one of the largest awards programs. That you have the option to brand besides chipping and DNA typing and you get complimentary USEF number for your offspring. That you have the choice to register foals by mail after your mare has been inspected which is handy if you don’t have time for inspection day or foal is too young or mare or foal is injured. (Let’s hope that does not happen!)
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I prefer GOV. You get complimentary USEF numbers for offspring, don’t get charged mares dues, and you get a passport/ actual German registration. The GOV is a branch of a German registry, not a separate club. (The AHS is ranked separately from the Hanoverian Verband on the WBFSH; the GOV is one and the same). The GOV has an excellent awards program, a crew of dedicated volunteers in the US, and full-time representatives in Germany. I’ve found the registry to be quite accessible and quick to answer my questions. In 2018, the option to register by mail was added. The Weser-Ems registry is a division of the GOV for German Riding Ponies. Personally, I’ve found the stallion options to be excellent and appreciate both the knowledge base and the helpful attitude of the GOV representatives I’ve met.
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I love the GOV policy of allowing mares to be bred to any stallion approved in a major European registry. It makes stallion searches a lot easier.
Having used both registries over the past 25 years,my preference by far is AHS for their superior and friendly customer service.
AHS
