Flying Changes: magazine for northwest sporthorse enthusiastis

Little Known Facts

You may have been traveling with your horses for years, and think you know it all. Guess what? Rules change—sometimes so fast even our veterinary clinic can’t keep track. In fact, one of our own practice veterinarians got caught preparing to cross the border in Washington to come home from a horse show a couple of years ago, she didn’t have the paperwork she needed, and ended up with a $900 fine. Ouch! The following are some recent changes and little known details about state-to-state travel requirements.

Did you know that brand inspection laws for many states have changed? As of last year, Oregon still required a brand inspection—now it’s no longer needed.
Did you know that you may travel to the state of Washington without a health certificate or Coggins Test? Yes, in fact if you are traveling into the state of Washington from Oregon or Idaho and your stay will be less than 4 days in duration, you do not need any paperwork at all!
Did you know that a veterinarian licensed in Washington is also eligible to be certified as a brand inspector? It’s true—a veterinarian in Washington can go through a certification process with the Washington Department of Agriculture and become a brand inspector. This will allow her to complete all your horse’s travel requirements in one visit. If your horse lives in Washington and you plan to travel, check with your local veterinarian before calling the brand inspector.

Traveling Canadian Style

While it’s true that you can sometimes make it to another state without the appropriate paperwork--don’t be caught with your britches down at the Canadian border or you’ll be sorry. Though there are many laws in place regarding equine travel, none are so stringent as Canada. Just try crossing into Canada without it, you simply won’t go! Canada will hold you at the border or make you turn back if you don’t have the appropriate documents. Not only must you have the documents to get through, they must be filled out accurately—mistakes on your paperwork equal hours at the border!

Many northwest horses make the trip north to Canada over the course of the show season. There are a few special considerations to think of when planning your journey. Paperwork for Canada must be approved, stamped and sealed by the state veterinarian through the USDA, which makes this process a little lengthier than for a state-to-state travel. After proof of a negative Coggins test is obtained, those results are sent, along with the Canadian health certificate to the USDA for this process to be completed. After this process is complete, papers are sent back to your veterinarian to be given to you. With the turn around time for this process taking a few days, it is wise to schedule your veterinary appointments at least two weeks prior to planned travel to avoid any complications.

Canada requirements: Certificate of veterinary inspection within 30 days • Negative test for EIA within 6 months of travel • Brand inspection is required for travel to Canada.