HORSE Sport Ireland (HSI) has introduced hefty changes to the cost of registering foals and other services in 2026, along with heralding ‘new innovations’ for the Horse Source system, which promise to reduce passport turnaround times.

This innovation will see a reduction in the steps, and paper trail, involved in handling a foal registration. Currently, when a customer submits a passport application through Horse Source, a DNA kit and blank paper marking chart is issued to the customer, the customer arranges a veterinary appointment to have the foal marked and the hair sample and completed chart are returned by post to Horse Sport Ireland before being sent on to the laboratory by post.

According to HSI, even when everything runs smoothly, this stage alone can take a minimum of seven working days.

When rolled out ‘later in the year’, the updated system will offer a fully digital and automated approach to marking charts and DNA sampling.

In future, when a customer applies, a digital marking chart is issued automatically to the nominated veterinary practitioner/clinic and DNA labels with unique barcodes are generated at the same time.

The veterinary practitioner then completes the marking chart online after examining the foal, the hair sample is taken and placed in an envelope with the system-generated barcode on it and then sent directly to the laboratory.

These changes, when introduced, will remove the need for paper marking charts. The laboratory testing phase still takes 14 working days, which remains a fixed element of the overall process.

Price increases

With regard to costs, increases have been applied across the board (see table), with online foal registration going up from €147.50 to €155 (before August 31st) and up from €172.60 to €190 if you use the older paper system. These fees go up to €210 and €245 respectively, if your application is made after August. With naming included, the online price for foal registration goes up from €159.90 to €170.00 (before August 31st) and the equivalent fee for a paper application goes up from €184.90 to €205. If you were to apply after August 31st, these fees then go up to €225 and €260 respectively. Yearling passports have gone up from €369 to €390 (online) and from €394 to €425 (paper) and passports for two-year-olds and over have also gone up. Change of ownership will cost €55 this year for online applications or €90 for paper. Passport amendments have gone up from €18.45 to €40 (online) or €75 on paper.

The ‘urgent’ fee which applies on top of the service fee in cases where a 24-hour turnaround is required remained static at €150. This fee drew ire from breeders when it was increased from €50 to €150 in 2024, a 300% increase. For a full list of 2026 prices, please visit the HSI website.

HW News 20022026 - Infogram