Eligible Mares

To be eligible for breeding within the NAS and register the offspring of the mare with the NAS, all mares must go through an approval process. The approval process is based on each individual. The extent of the approval process will depend upon what the mare has accomplished in her lifetime. Basic requirements for all mares include:

• Minimum of 15.1h in height
• Minimum of 3 years of age. (A 2-year old can be inspected for the Mare Books but it is at the owner's discretion)
• The absence of non-recognized bloodlines from the pedigree, regardless of current registration. Examples of non-recognized bloodlines include Appaloosa, Morgan, American Paint Horse, Quarter Horse, Saddlebreds, Standardbreds, Mustangs, Friesians, Andalusians, Lipizzaners, pony breeds, drafts breeds, etc.

The NAS has two mare books: the Main Mare Book and the Auxiliary Mare Book.

Main Mare Book

To be eligible for the Main Mare Book, mares must have:

• A certified 5-generation pedigree
• Original registration by the NAS, a NAS-recognized WBFSH registry, the Jockey Club OR the Arabian Horse Association. The complete list of WBFSH-recognized registries can be found on line (http://www.wbfsh.org/?GB/Members.aspx). Please note that not all WBFSH registries will be recognized by NAS so please check with the office for clarification.

Auxiliary Book

The Auxiliary Book has been designed to accommodate those quality mares who have problems with registration papers and/or their pedigree. For example, mares that are lacking registration papers, have gaps in their 5-generation pedigree, have been issued Certificate of Pedigrees, etc., are all candidates for the Auxiliary Book. If you have a quality mare and believe she may be a candidate for the Auxiliary book, please check with the office to discuss your mare further.

Auxiliary Book mares will have certain requirements and limitations that will need to be followed to maintain their Auxiliary Book status. Please see the Mare Quality Enforcement section.

The Mare Approval Process

Inspection attendance for mares will be contingent upon the mare and her accomplishments as a broodmare. While each mare will be assessed individually, generalized guidelines of inspection attendance are outlined below.

Mares that are NAS-inspected will be able to participate in the NAS Mare predicate program (regardless of their birth registry) and possibly earn their Premium and/or Elite status with the NAS.

Mares That Have Never Been Inspected

Mares are required to be inspected at an NAS inspection if they have never been inspected by the NAS or an NAS-recognized WBFSH registry (minimum score requirements must be met). Also, all mares that are Auxiliary Book candidates must be inspected at an NAS Inspection, regardless of their status with other registries.

AGED/UNSOUND MARES: The NAS recognizes that there are many older mares and/or mares with injuries which may render them "breeding sound" only and unable to perform at an inspection. Acknowledging the potential contribution of these mares to North American sport horse breeding, the NAS invites such mares to the approval process. With veterinarian-certified documentation validating the injury, these mares will participate in those aspects which their physical capabilities allow as outlined by their veterinarian and be scored accordingly.

Mares That Have Been Inspected By Other Organizations

Mares that have been inspected by other NAS-recognized WBFSH registries and have received sufficient scores may be allowed to forgo the NAS inspection upon review of their information by the NAS.

The minimum scores received from some of the other registries (if the registry is not listed below, please contact out office for minimum score):

• Belgian Warmblood: 70 points
• Canadian Warmblood: Premium
• Danish Warmblood: Elite
• GOV: Premium (7.5)
• Holsteiner Verband/AHHA: Premium (46 bonits)
• Hanoverian/AHS: Elite mare candidate (7.0)
• KWPN: Ster mare
• Old/NA: Premium (105 points)
• RPSI: Premium (49 points)
• Trakehner: Model (56 points)
• Swedish Warmblood: Class I (38 points)

If the mare has received a sufficient score, the owner will need to submit the following documentation to the NAS for review and final approval to waive inspection attendance:

• A copy of the original registration papers including a 5-generation pedigree
• A copy of the score sheet reflecting required minimum score (if the mare has been approved by several registries, please include this information as well)
• Four photographs of the mare (conformation left, conformation right, conformation front, conformation back)

Additional information that owners may want to add for NAS review, but is not required, include:

• A production report of the mare, including such items as detailed information on premium foals, approved stallions from the mare's direct line, competition record of offspring, etc.
• The competition record of the mare

The Mare Inspection

The NAS mare inspection consists of one required phase (referred to as the Core inspection) plus two optional phases, the jump chute and/or an under saddle test.

The Core Inspection includes:

• Official measurement
• Presentation in-hand on hard ground, both walk and trot
• Presentation in-hand on the triangle, both walk and trot
• Presentation "at liberty"

During the Core phase, the mare's type, conformation and gaits (walk, trot and canter) will be assessed and scored.

Through the jump chute, the mare will be assessed on four criteria:

• Technique
• Scope
• Carefulness
• Willingness

The height of the jump chute will be based upon the age and/or ability of the mare.

The under saddle test, at the owner's discretion, can be "dressage-oriented" or "jumper-oriented." The degree of difficulty of the test will be dictated by the horse's age. The mare will be assessed on:

• Rideability
• Quality of gaits under saddle
• Quality of jump under saddle
• Overall impression

The Mare Inspection Score

To obtain Main Mare Book Status, Main Mare Book-eligible mares must receive:

• An overall score of 6.5 and
• A "core" score of at least 6.0 and
• No single score less than a 5.0.

To receive Auxiliary Book Status, Auxiliary Book-eligible mares must receive:

• An overall score of 6.75 and
• A "core" score of at least 6.5 and
• No single score less than 6.0.

Both Main Mare Book and Auxiliary Book mares can mares achieve Premium status if they receive:

• An overall score of 7.5 and
• A "core" score of at least 7.0 and
• No single score less than 6.0

Mare Quality Enforcement

In a similar fashion to the Stallion Quality Enforcement, the offspring of all NAS-approved mares will be monitored to allow NAS judges to provide mare owner's maximum feedback and guidance about their current and future breeding selections. Mares that produce quality offspring will be eligible for the registry's Elite Mare program.

Mares that are producing less than sufficient quality foals will be placed on the Watch List and be given an opportunity to increase the overall quality before losing their breeding approval.

For Auxiliary Book mares, there are additional requirements and limitations to ensure the overall quality of their offspring. These include:

• All offspring have to be inspected to be registered, even if bred to Lifetime approved stallions
• Mare will immediately be put on a watch list if foal is not of good quality
• Offspring will not be branded until the age of 3 when it is inspected at an NAS Inspection and receives a score of at least 6.5.
• Male offspring of Auxiliary Book mares will not be considered for stallion licensing.
• Female offspring of the original Auxiliary Book mare will be upgraded to the Main Mare Book when they have achieved at least 3 full generations of known, verifiable, approved horses.
• If a mare loses her Auxiliary book status because of lack of quality offspring, female offspring from said mare will need to "re-establish" the mare line in the Auxiliary Book as the original mare will be considered an unapproved mare.