To comply with the rules of competition, a number of equestrian societies require a height certificate issued by the Joint Measurement Board (JMB).
A horse (or pony) is aged as being one year old as from 1st January the year after it is born and becomes two years old on the following 1st January and so on.
Horses are measured from four years old onwards.
ANNUAL certificates are given for years four, five and six. Certificates expire on the 31st December of each year. A different Official Measurer must be used to obtain consecutive certificates.
A FULL certificate can be given from seven years of age. At least one ANNUAL certificate must be obtained before a FULL certificate will be issued.
To obtain a FULL certificate the horse requires two measurements obtained from DIFFERENT measurers at least one year apart, where the final measurement is done at seven years plus.
As of 2017, the application and payment for a height certificate should be completed via the JMB website prior to the measurement: www.thejmbonline.co.uk/
An appointment can then be made with our veterinary surgeon who is an Official Measurer. Proof of payment to the JMB either as a hard or digital copy must be brought to the appointment.
To arrange a measurement, please telephone the surgery and organise a date and time. The measurement is performed on the ‘official measuring pad’ which is at the rear of the surgery.
The owner is required to present the passport and any existing JMB documentation to the Official Measurer at the time of measurement.
All four shoes must be removed and feet trimmed back to a normal level prior to arrival at the surgery. The hooves should be picked, cleaned but not oiled.
Bring the horse to the surgery 20 minutes before the allotted measurement time and take it to the pad with a hay net and let it relax prior to measurement. We would advise that you get the horse accustomed to a stick beside his/her, shoulders/withers. If the horse is nervous, not relaxed or poorly handled it will prove difficult or impossible to measure. This is your responsibility. The horse should be presented with a head collar and leading rope. Not a bit.
The animal will be scanned for a microchip; if one cannot be found another will be inserted at the owner’s expense.
No other horse should be brought to the surgery at the time of measurement.
Measurement will typically take place in the afternoon between 2 pm and 4 pm.
Allow up to one hour from arrival for relaxation, certification and measurement.
It is your responsibility to arrange for the farrier to reapply the shoes.
If you have any doubts about these arrangements, please speak to the measurer in advance.
Measurement will not occur in inclement weather.
No sedation or use of drugs is allowed.
It is in all our interests to obtain the correct minimal height and to obtain this we request that you follow the above protocol and present your horse in a clean, prepared and relaxed manner.