Health Certificate required for out of state horses at VAHT

[Duckz]

I saw the notice plastered all over the website for the Virginia Horse Trials today that any horse trasported into Virginia from another state needs a health certificate issued within 30 days. I emailed the organizers to see if they’d be checking for it and they said that the folks at the horse center will be checking it for all out of state horses. Luckily the vet is coming out tomorrow anyway, but it has me wondering - does the vet need to do a physical exam? Or can I just call the vet every time I want to go out of state and have her fax me a new one?

I did some searches and found a thread from earlier this year, but I couldn’t get a definite answer on if the vet has to physically evaluate the horse. Also, any idea how much vets are charging for these?

Honestly, I’ve been going back and forth to Virginia with my horse for the past three years and have never heard of this. Good thing I never got pulled over.

[delusions_of_grandeur]

Legally, I think the vet has to physically examine the horse, and can’t just fax one over for you. All they do is a rectal temp (that’s all the form requires) and look the horse over. My vet charged like $35 for the health cert (and $65 for the barn call:(). To be fair - my trainer and the vet both told me it was a probably waste of money and that no one checks but Florida… I’d actually be happy if the darn thing got checked after I paid for it! At least Morven and VaHT are less than 30 days apart, so I could use the same cert for both.

[Chouteau]

I always get a health certificate whenever I am crossing a state line with my horse – I am pretty sure it is required by most states. Believe me, I don’t think they are worth much and it does get expensive. Once this summer I was charged $60 for one – a farm call is included in that but I found out later the vet didn’t even look at my horse, let alone do any sort of exam. I understand charging a farm call, but at least take my horses’ temp or pat him on the nose to justify it. I avoid using them now when possible, my preferred vet will charge me the actual fee ($11) if he is at the barn anyway, sometimes he isn’t so I get a farm call charge but it’s reasonable ($33 total) and he actually does a real examination so I feel like I am getting something for that fee. I have only been asked to show the health certificate once and that was this past June at the tail end of the EHV1 outbreak.

[Chouteau]

& since I went to look at it (& I’m obsessive enough to track such things) I have spent over $450 on health certificates since I started eventing in July of 2009

[Desert_Topaz]

Yes, the vet does need to do a physical exam. Mine does temp, listens to her lungs and there’s something that makes their mouth look odd that she also had to look for. My pony had four this year, because all of our closest events are out of state.

Out here in the west health certificates are required for entering just about every state. There are check points at state lines often called Ports of Entry where you, in theory, have to pull over if you’re hauling livestock (and horses are livestock) and have them check your paperwork. We also have to have a Brand Inspection, to make sure you’re not stealing the animals. There are stories of people not having a HC and having to wait hours at a state line for a vet to come and check the horse.

I believe the state gets some of the money from the health certificate, as it is a state document. So what your vet charges may vary in relation to that.

[Moody_Mare]

VHT also posted on Facebook today they are requiring Health Certificates and coggins, that they will be checked.

[bornfreenowexpensive]

I think that I’ve gotten them for VHT before but not Morven.

The rules change all the time…but around here, you do not need one to go into most neighboring states–or its some self filled out one that you can do without your vet. I can cross in to 4 states within an hour drive…2 states within 30 minutes. So if I had to get a health certificate every time I crossed a state line…my vet would be getting an even larger portion of my paycheck;) Some States like MD and PA have reciprocity…and unless there is a out break of something, you do not need a health certificate if you are crossing between MD and PA for example just for a day or two show.

[KnRponies]

Yes, Virginia Horse Center is checking. I work for a vet and had to do an emergency one for some horses that were already AT VHC last weekend for a show. We had conveniently been out to vaccinate the horses the week before, so they were seen by a vet.

[JMarcyQuay]

Legally they are required for ANY horse crossing state lines, whether it be for competition, training, cross-country schooling, simply moving barns, sale, etc. Police or dept. of ag. can request one at any time for any horse traveling across state lines, just as they can for coggins.

However, many people have noted that there are very few places that actually check (KHP being the big stickler about it).

Legally the vet needs to come out, look & listen, take temp…very simple 5 minute physical exam prior to writing up the health cert. They need to have a coggins in front of them to complete the paperwork (need lab and accession number on the health cert). Now…lots of vets will fax them over for frequently traveling customers, or horses that they’ve seen a lot. Some are comfortable doing that, others aren’t.

[yellowbritches]

What bfne said. Those of us in the NOVA, MD, DE, PA region can cross so quickly in and out of states and for some, it is just part of the routine (I’m going to VA to the vet tomorrow). However, I always get one if I’m traveling a long distance (Millbrook, Aiken, KY) or if if they are required for the venue (like the KY horse park, but I think I needed one for the CIC at Plantation).

[HER]

JMarcyQuay is right. All horses need a health certificate for crossing state lines for ANY reason. Doesn’t matter if the other state is 2 min away- the police can stop any trailer and ask for a health certificate. It is not only show venues that check- I have had clients that have been pulled over on the interstate and had their health papers examined by the police- right there on the side of the road. VAHT shouldn’t have to post about the health certificate requirements, because everyone from out of state should always have a health certificate anyway. Different states have different specifics that need to be on the health certificate- permit numbers for some states, temperature for others. Check the USDA-APHIS- animal health website for the specific requirements. The reason for this is to reduce the transmission of diseases across state lines. It is not a “formality” and certainly not a way for your vet to get rich. If you cross state lines without a health certificate it is against the law- you may have never gotten caught, and you may never get caught, but it is illegal.
(I checked the requirements for MD- just as a example- yb- there is no “reciprocity” between surrounding states.) Just want everyone to be safe, and also not get pulled over for something preventable. How would you feel if other people who weren’t getting health certificates were transporting horses with strangles or EHV into your backyard?
Helen Rutter, DVM

[HER]

http://www.aphis.usda.gov/import_export/animals/animal_import/animal_imports_states.shtml

Here is the website.

[Jeannette_formerly_ponygyrl]

I haven’t checked via the usda link yet (though I didn’t see mention of it in the SC equine listing) but this is relevant for southerners.

reciprocity

(MD is not a southern state, apparently. )

Basically it says a bunch of us southern states have a 6 month permit available if we want.

[bornfreenowexpensive]

@HER;5917562

(I checked the requirements for MD- just as a example- yb- there is no “reciprocity” between surrounding states.) Just want everyone to be safe, and also not get pulled over for something preventable. How would you feel if other people who weren’t getting health certificates were transporting horses with strangles or EHV into your backyard?
Helen Rutter, DVM

I’ve called and asked the question. They said I didn’t need a CVI from a vet coming from PA. There is a self form you can fill out…you take their temp etc NOT a vet. That is for people from surrounding states for short trips unless there is an alerted out break…which we have had a couple of times in recent years. Perhaps the person I talked to was wrong…but it is what I was told.

You of course need a coggins.

This state (PA) will not go generally after you for just health certificates…they are FAR FAR FAR more likely to go after those of us with PA plates to make sure we registered for the correct towing rate…and paid the rather heafty registration taxes we have here.

People transport with strangles all the time…within the state. I lost 3 months with one of my horses to strangles who caught it from a pony at the barn who went to a local show 4 miles down the road. NO health certificate is going to prevent that…especially one that is valid for 30 days. IT IS a money making scheme for vets and the state. Since your horse could become sick and contagious after the certificate is issued…and/or not showing any symptoms when you leave.

The ONLY thing that will stop out breaks is responsible horse owners who know their horses and stay home if there is even an inkling of an issue.

[Jeannette_formerly_ponygyrl]

bornfree - ooh, please clarify, as this sounds promising! Are you saying for people from states neighboring VA, we can take our own horse temp, fill in a form, and be cool?

[bornfreenowexpensive]

@Jeannette

bornfree - ooh, please clarify, as this sounds promising! Are you saying for people from states neighboring VA, we can take our own horse temp, fill in a form, and be cool?

It was for going from PA into MD (whose boarder is 10 minutes from me). I’ll have to find the link again. I don’t know if would be valid for VA to MD.

ETA: Here it is:

http://www.mda.state.md.us/article.php?i=16249

Note–from neighboring states you do NOT need a CVI for showing. It includes VA and PA. But your are supposed to fill out one of these:
http://www.mda.state.md.us/animal_health/fair_show/pdf/equine_exhibitor_self_certification.pdf

When there were some active out breaks…they did check these at the shows.

There are different rules for other livestock and Fairs etc.

[JMarcyQuay]

The link that Jeanette posted is usually referred to as the “Go Pass”. To obtain one, you need to go through the same process as a regular 30-day health certificate, recieve the 30-day health certificate, and then get the go pass with that document and your coggins. You must carry all three with you. It is much more expensive to get a go pass than a 30-day certificate, and is only good in those listed states. For some people who travel quite often in those states and would be getting a health certificate every 30 days for 6-months, it is a price break. For other people who venture out of those states or don’t travel as much, it costs more for the go pass than multiple 30-day certificates…so it’s not just “you’re allowed to travel in southern states without documentation.”

[Duckz]

[QUOTE=HER;5917562]
VAHT shouldn’t have to post about the health certificate requirements, because everyone from out of state should always have a health certificate anyway. [/QUOTE]

Well I’m sure glad they did, as I’d be turned away after a 5 hour drive for not knowing about it. This isn’t common knowledge yet.

[lecoeurtriste]

NC travel permit

The NC dept of agriculture offers a 6mo equine interstate travel permit that is good for Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. Some states have had reciprocal agreements in the past, but this is the first agreement of its kind in South.

It’s really easy to do: you simply send in a health certificate, $5, and pictures of your horse. So long as the coggins has been drawn in NC and doesn’t expire within that 6mo period, they’ll send you a nifty little card to carry in your wallet. Both of my horses have one–since my vet is in SC, I carry it everywhere. When I went to DAL at the VHC in July, they gave me the hairy eyeball when I presented the card, but quickly found out I wasn’t trying to pull the wool over their eyes when they called the contact number on the back.

It’s truly the BEST $5 I’ve ever paid the government!

[lecoeurtriste]

@Jeannette

Basically it says a bunch of us southern states have a 6 month permit available if we want.

Here’s the link for NC residents.