Horses and their owners need a voice in Wellington when the government makes decisions that affect them. The NZEHA provides that voice through a collaborative approach, focusing on health, welfare, and biosecurity and seeking good outcomes for all New Zealand horses.

We are nominated representatives from many of the horse groups in New Zealand (see our website). Most horse sectors also make an annual donation to help pay for some of the costs of our activities. A sector that doesn’t think their voice is heard could apply to have a representative on the committee or ask an existing committee member to represent their interests. The NZEHA is a non-government organisation and a registered charity.

In 1998, the NZEHA was formed in response to changes in legislation whereby NZ moved away from the Animals Act to the currently used Biosecurity Act 1993.

If a plant, fish, forestry or animal sector wanted to respond or manage disease on a population basis then they have to plan, do it and pay for it themselves. If it’s a new disease, the Government will contribute up to 50% if there is a signed agreement; the equine industry has a Government Industry Agreement (GIA). Often, funds are raised by way of an industry levy. For the equine industry, a Biosecurity (Readiness and Response) Levy operates by collecting the following fees:

- $100 per imported or exported horse

- $20 per imported or exported frozen embryo

- $10 per imported or exported fresh chilled inseminating dose

- $1 per frozen semen straw

This levy came into effect in September 2020.

New Zealand horses are very healthy, but we are constantly exposed to new diseases either because the ones we have can change or mutate or we get a new disease from another country. New Zealand still has diseases such as strangles, herpes virus, rotavirus, Rhodococcus equi, leptospirosis, tetanus, and many others, we call these endemic diseases. Of all diseases that are infectious to horses there are 23 diseases (exotic to New Zealand) that we closely monitor. Some are more likely to come than others. Unless technically impossible or cost prohibitive the NZEHA’s default will always be to eradicate any of the exotic diseases if they arrived in New Zealand.

It is important to note that only a select few of the diseases we closely monitor would require a horse to be humanely euthanased should they fall sick with it, as they pose a high risk to human health. Further to this, the chances of NZ getting these diseases, the likes of Rabies or Anthrax, for example, is very low.

We have had three exotic equine diseases enter New Zealand in the last 50 years: Equine Viral Arteritis, Equine Infectious Anaemia and Equine Piroplasmosis. In each case, we were able to identify, isolate and eradicate. The key is to find the disease early and prevent its spread.

Many of the exotic diseases might make our horses very sick, but most could be treated, and we would not seek to manage most of the “more likely to arrive” exotic diseases by killing horses. A few of the diseases, such as glanders, rabies, and Hendra, are untreatable and often fatal. Because they can also make humans very sick, these infected horses would likely be humanely euthanised.

Many New Zealanders like to buy and sell horses and semen to and from around the world. Through these activities, the equine industry contributes significantly to the NZ economy. NZEHA does not seek to close our borders but works hard to advocate for strong preventative measures. This sometimes means horses from some countries cannot come here. The most common preventative measures include pre-travel tests, treatments, vaccination and quarantine.

New Zealand’s import system is still very good. Over many years, we have imported many thousands of horses and semen straws very safely.

Unfortunately, no test, treatment, or quarantine is 100% perfect, and mistakes can be made at any point of the process. That is how we got the three diseases we have already had into the country. So that is why the NZEHA constantly plans and prepares our sector to be as ready as possible for the next new horse disease.

We want to respond to diseases or emergencies quickly, with the fewest horses getting sick or hurt, and keep costs to everyone as low as possible. If we don’t know how many horses there are, where they are, or how to contact their owners, then finding this out in an emergency takes a lot of time and people and undermines our chance of successful disease containment. The name of this system will be the National Equine Identification and Traceability System or NEIT.

The government won’t do anything unless the Equine sector says it’s important and needs to be done. Even then, they will only pay half, and the equine sector will have to pay the other half.

The government also needs equine industry expertise to understand the risks and prepare for a potential disease incursion. Equine industry professionals, via the NZ Equine Health Association, are responsible for providing the expertise, experience, and knowledge that drives the government to act on these matters.

As horse owners, we are responsible for our horse’s health and welfare. Being sick for horses is no fun; treatments and nursing take time and money. As owners, we are responsible for preventing the spread of disease to other people’s horses. When we eradicate a disease, that pain and cost stop for every horse and their owner. It is almost always cheaper to nip things in the bud early than to let the disease spread and stay cycling in the population forever. By being prepared, we will have better knowledge of where horses are in relation to the outbreak “ground zero”, enabling a quick reaction from the biosecurity response. Further, because we have a stringent import system, it will unlikely recur once the disease is eradicated. This also gives NZ a “disease-free” status when exporting to other countries, making exports less complicated.

The microchip details, along with horse location and owner contact details, enable us to contact owners quickly and share what measures they can take to minimise their horse’s disease risk. If we needed access to vaccinations, then information about horse numbers in and around high-risk infection sites can guide preventative vaccination strategies.

NZEHA are working to ensure that whatever system we introduce is easy and affordable and we aim to minimise the hassle factor. This is very much front of mind as we negotiate with IT developers to build the system. We have been closely following other livestock sectors and the horse ID systems in Australia, EU, UK and Canada to see what doesn’t work and understand what works simply and most effectively. We have been working with existing NZ horse registrars with the goal of streamlining and aligning with existing systems.

No, microchips do not have GPS or remote tracking capabilities. They simply contain a unique identifying code that can be scanned by a reader held against the implantation site, which is typically the neck in horses. Microchips are also available to measure the horse’s temperature, which some owners might be interested in using.

A GPS can only be registered when the microchip is scanned and connected to a compatible software system designed for this use.

Using microchips in horses for identification is not a new concept, so we have a good understanding of the best location for them to be implanted and what happens once they are. Most commonly, the microchip will be implanted into the nuchal ligament in the neck of the horse and is a procedure that should be carried out by a veterinarian or under veterinary supervision. Microchips generally do not migrate after implantation in horses (Stein et al. 2003; Gerber et al. 2012). Horses may exhibit a local inflammatory response characterised by swelling and sensitivity to pressure at the insertion site that usually resolves in one to three days (Gerber et al. 2012). You can find more information about microchipping your horse HERE.

You will only need to register your horse in the system once, and a one-time fee covers its lifetime registration. The cost of this one-off registration will be $15 plus the cost of microchipping if your horse isn’t already done.

You will be able to transfer ownership and location information to reflect the new location and owner or person in charge of the horse. This change will have no fees associated with it.

The NZEHA’s purpose in collecting this data is very clear: to respond quickly to an outbreak of an equine disease. By knowing where horses are and who owns them, we can contact the right people quickly, keeping them updated and giving them information pertinent to the situation, which will likely be fast-moving. The goal of this is to shorten the duration of the response by limiting the spread of disease and keeping costs down due to fewer horses being affected. It is our best defence and will greatly improve our chances of eradicating the disease and ensuring normalcy in the movement of NZ horses. Data collected to do this will only be used by the NZEHA and shared with MPI in the face of a disease response, of which we have agreed to a cost share agreement as part of the Government Industry Agreement.

Our proposed start date is August 2025, with all horses born in this foal crop forward being microchipped and registered. With Thoroughbred and Standardbred horses already requiring microchipping for breed registration, plus many smaller breed societies moving to this space if not already there, registering horses you breed on a centralised identification database will be the new normal. The idea here is that we will have identified most of the horse population over the next ten to twenty years. Horses born before this date will not be required to be entered at this time, but we encourage horse owners to be proactive, as that is our best defence in the face of a disease outbreak.