Certification

REPRODUCED FROM THE RMHA WEBSITE WITH PERMISSION

Certification protects the value of your horse and helps maintain the quality of our precious breed. Offspring from parents that are not certified before conception can only be registered by exception and fines are payable. Sanctioned shows and competitive trail rides require certification.

Your horse must be a minimum of 23 months old to be presented for certification.

Prior to breeding, all Rocky Mountain Horses should be inspected and certified. The certification process for both stallions and mares is identical. To be certified, the animal must be inspected by three disinterested Examiners, none of whom is the owner. The owner of the animal will be allowed one uncontested challenge of an Examiner prior to the examination of a horse. To be certified, the individual horse must have the correct gait for the Rocky Mountain Horse, be ridden under saddle with bridle, and must meet all conformation requirements. For breeding purposes, stallions must have both testicles below the external inguinal ring. All horses must have a good temperament and a graceful way of going.

After a successful examination, papers will be issued on the horse indicating the animal is certified. An appropriate fee will be charged. Male and female horses that are not certified to breed will be retained in the registry if, in the opinion of the examiners, the defects that resulted in their disqualification are not of a degree that would have a detrimental effect on the reputation of the breed. Should any of these animals produce offspring, those offspring will not be eligible for registration under any circumstance. If severe defects that in the opinion of the examiners would be detrimental to the reputation of the Breed are found, the animal will be removed from the registry.

Certification can be done in person as a Live Certification. If a Live Certification isn’t possible, you may make a video of your horse to be reviewed by RMHA Examiners for certification.

For an example of this you can watch the video below...

Rules for Certification can be found in the Rules of the Registry located under the Association Tab by clicking on Bylaws & Rules. Additional information regarding Certification can be found by selecting the Certification options on the Forms page, under the Association tab of the RMHA website.

Please see Understanding Gait for more information on what to look for to assess for certification