THE FEI has introduced Equipass, the first digital passport of its kind for horses, designed to centralise essential information and integrate seamlessly with existing systems, which will be introduced for all FEI-registered horses on January 26th, 2026.

Equipass will provide a single, accessible platform for a horse’s identification, medical history, vaccination records, location, and travel documentation. It has been, the FEI said, created to address the equestrian industry’s pressing need for accurate health records, regulatory compliance, and improved disease control.

By streamlining documentation and ensuring verification, it also facilitates the smooth and safe international movement of horses, reducing administrative complexities while strengthening biosecurity across borders. The system allows owners, athletes, grooms, veterinarians, officials and authorities to access all essential data in one app.

Equipass was developed by the FEI Veterinary and Technology Operations departments, as part of a public private partnership with the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), following an International Horse Sport Confederation (IHSC) agreement that tasked the FEI with creating the tool.

Equipass draws automatically on existing FEI data from multiple sources, so owners do not need to recreate records. “This is the first platform of its kind to integrate horse identification, health records, vaccination tracking, travel documentation, and microchip scanning in a single, unified system, for lifetime traceability,” FEI Director of Technology Operations Gaspard Dufour said.

“We are particularly proud of the thermal microchip scanning, which allows simultaneous verification of identity, location, and body temperature - a first in equestrian sport, with huge potential for automated biosecurity monitoring and real-time welfare oversight.

“This project is a perfect example of technical expertise meeting the real-world demands of the equestrian industry, all in the service of improving the welfare of horses worldwide. With multi-device access and real-time updates, Equipass is both practical and scalable. This is a tool that we believe will make a genuine difference for everyone who works with horses.”

Equipass will be introduced in three stages; a mobile app and administration tools for all FEI-registered horses in January 2026, followed by the expansion to national horse populations, with the integration of interested National Federations, at the end of 2027/early 2028. The third phase will be opening the system to interested studbooks and other stakeholders, with potential partnership and revenue-sharing models.

‘No blood’ rule changed

The FEI General Assembly has approved, with 96% approval, the restructured FEI Jumping Rules, which will take effect on January 1st 2026.

The proposed Article 259 on ‘Jumping Recorded Warnings’ was also approved. These include a change to the ‘no blood’ rule whereby there will be new mandatory fitness-to-compete checks by the Ground Jury, in consultation with the veterinary delegate, in all cases of blood.

Horses will now be permitted to continue competing if passed fit-to-compete following the above veterinary check. This, the FEI said, will create clearer rules for FEI Officials, removing the “minor” distinction and ensuring greater consistency and objectivity. This is a move away from the current rule which states any visible blood on a horse during competition results in immediate disqualification.

Some critics describe the move as a setback for equine welfare and a blow to the integrity of the sport. German press outlet Dressur-Studien set up a petition to ‘save the blood rule’, and, so far, it has been signed by 65,581 people and remains open. Of a total of 82 voting nations, 20 voted against the amendment.

All jumping recorded warnings for athletes will now be published by the FEI for transparency and accountability for athletes. There will be automatic notification to National Federations of all jumping recorded warnings concerning their athletes, enabling them to better monitor cases and decide whether to impose additional welfare checks or measures.

The jumping rules that remain unchanged are the mandatory disqualification for excessive use of spurs; the Abuse of Horse provisions; and the possibility of opening separate disciplinary proceedings to impose additional sanctions.

“We acknowledge that the approval was not unanimous and have taken note of the request from several National Federations for a more harmonised approach to the topic across disciplines and we are committed to looking into this,” FEI Secretary General Sabrina Ibanez said. “We will take a structured, evidence based approach grounded in thorough consultation and driven by data. Our ongoing projects at the FEI will play a key role in supporting accurate data recording, and we will continue to advance safety and welfare through evidence-based measures that are both rigorous and robust to further demonstrate our unwavering support to horse welfare.

“We acknowledge that a number of National Federations voted against the proposal. While their reasons may vary, we take this outcome seriously and are committed to examining it carefully to better understand the concerns and address them as we move forward.”