The requirements for the authorisation and recognition of an association to handle the stud books have been regulated, and the criteria have been established to guarantee the correct administration of the breeds.
The new norms and standards incorporated into the latest EU laws on
zootechnical and genealogical conditions for the exchange of equines within the European Union.

This past May the 25th, the Council of Ministers passed a Royal Decree
affecting the selection and reproduction of pure equine breeds, which states that the administration of the stud books will be the responsibility of those breeder associations officially recognised to this end. Likewise, the law included the latest EU mandates in the field of zootechnical and genealogical conditions that regulate the exchange/movement of equines within the European Union.

Thus, the current laws for equine breeds will be updated to adapt to the laws covering other animal breeds. Moreover, it liberates the stud book system by placing it in the hands of an official department, so that the stud books can be handled by the recognized associations if and when the said associations comply with the requirement established in the Royal Decree approved on May the 25th.

This legislation established a number of obligations the purpose of which are to guarantee the correct management of the breeds in order to avoid the possible dispersion of criteria among associations, which could jeopardise the correct application of the improvement programs.

The changes included in the Bill on Horse Breeding and Equine Breeds—
sanctioned by Spain’s House of Representatives—will facilitate the handling of the stud book and will, at the same time, promote the involvement of breeders and associations based on principles of effectiveness, efficiency, transparency, preservation and improvement, and the sustainability and optimisation of resources.

The Royal Decree regulates the legal framework that officially recognises the breeder associations in order for the different equine breeds to handle their stud books, depending on their scope of coverage, whether this be national (dependent upon the national government) or regional (dependent upon the regional government). It also articulates the conditions under which said recognition may be granted.

Also, it established the zootechnical and genealogical conditions that regulate the exchange of equines, sperm, ova and embryos and imports to third countries, according to EU legislation.

In regards to the legal framework for equine stud books, the minimum structural requirements have been established, as well as the identification of individual horses, the minimal criteria for the registration of horses in said stud book, the selection of breeding stock, plans for the improvement and control of performance and the creation of data bases with all the information of interest on the breeds.

A number of resolutions complete the legislation in order to duly regulate the intermediate process until official recognition is granted to the breeder associations.