1. Eligibility

1.1.  Each Member Society must ensure that all pure bred Caspians registered in their stud books are eligible for inclusion in the ICSB and that their registration procedures comply with the minimum requirements of registration and identification as determined by the ICS.

1.2.  To be eligible for registration in the ICSB, a Caspian must first be registered by the ICS Member Society representing its territory of birth. For this purpose countries in the European Union are classed as one territory although, for accurate recording purposes, preference should be given to registration with the society representing the country of birth.  Any foal born outside of a territory covered by an ICS Member Society must, with the exception of foundation stock, be registered in the stud book of the Member Society responsible for licensing the sire, or the closest eligible ICS Member Society.

1.3.  To be eligible for entry into the ICSB, the sire and dam of the horse concerned must have been previously recorded in the ICSB (in accordance with Clause 2.1), with the exception of foundation stock imported directly from Iran or neighbouring territories. 

1.4.  It is the responsibility of any importer of foundation stock to satisfy him/herself prior to importation that the stock concerned will meet the ICS Breed Type and Standard and that such stock comply with the guidelines for registration of foundation stock as designated by Louise Firouz . The ICS accepts no liability for any loss sustained by an importer whose stock is subsequently excluded from the ICSB for any failure to meet the breed standard or guidelines for registration of foundation stock. Imported stock not already registered in the main stud book of the ICSB will be subject to inspection by a team of not less than two affiliated national society members of standing, who shall be appointed by the ICS Council .

1.5.  The ICS Council may refuse an application for registration, or cancel the registration of a previously registered animal, where it has justifiable cause to doubt that animal’s eligibility for registration as a Pure-Bred Caspian.

1.6.  All pure-bred Caspians registered according to the Rules of Registration shall be eligible for inclusion in the ICSB. While EU Member Societies may not exclude any purebreds from registration, stock which do not meet the requirements of the Rules of Registration shall only be eligible for the Register, Section X of the ICSB.  (Non-EU Member Societies may determine for themselves whether to accept the registration of Caspians that will only be eligible for the Register, Section X of the ICSB.)

2. Minimum Requirements for Registration

2.1.  Caspians, with the exception of foundation stock, must have been sired by a registered stallion, which must hold a valid licence at the time of service. No colt or stallion may be used for breeding before or unless a licence is obtained.  It is therefore the responsibility of each member society to have in place an acceptable system for inspecting and licensing stallions before their use at stud.

2.1.1 The minimum requirement for the issue of a stallion licence shall be a veterinary examination to certify the lack of any apparent congenital fault.

2.1.2 A colt must be at least two years of age before a stallion licence may be granted for breeding purposes.

2.1.3 Stallions’ conformation and temperament should comply with the Breed Type and Standard.

2.1.4  If a licence is discovered to have been fraudulently obtained, a congenital fault is subsequently reported, or there is evidence of a substantial departure from the Breed Type and Standard, the ICS Council may request that the licensing society suspend or cancel such a licence and/or require further examination and/or DNA testing by a veterinary authority specified by the ICS.  If upheld, the costs of such examination and any consequential loss will be the responsibility of the stallion owner, but a complainant should bear in mind that, if upheld, costs could be reclaimed by the stallion owner. The ICS will not be responsible for costs in any event.

2.1.5  Caspians sired by a registered colt or stallion which is not licensed at the time of conception, and their progeny, shall be eligible for entry in the International Caspian Register, Section X of the International Caspian Stud Book. The progeny of Section X stallions and mares may not be upgraded from the Register, Section X.

2.1.6  Notwithstanding Clause 2.1.5, and only in extra-ordinary circumstances, for example, concerning the progeny of a precocious colt of rare bloodlines which is subsequently licensed on reaching two years of age, a Member Society may apply to the ICS Council, giving sound reasons for upgrading the sire’s progeny from the Register, Section X. Such approval to upgrade from the Register may be granted by a simple majority of Council and may attract a penalty fee.  In accordance with 2.1.5, permission to upgrade will not be granted if the unlicensed sire is the progeny of one or more Section X parents.

2.2 A Caspian must be registered with the ICS by two years of age. Late registration will attract a penalty fee, to be decided according to the circumstances and ICS guidelines by the International Registrar.

2.3 A Caspian must be registered with a unique breeder’s prefix. To avoid duplication, Member Societies must apply to the ICS Registrar for permission to use a prefix prior to a breeder’s first registration. Permission will not be granted to use a prefix that has been previously allocated.  A name may be re-used only with a different prefix.

2.4   Prior to registration the national Member Society must satisfy itself as to the following:

2.4.1  that the parentage of the Caspian is as claimed on the application for registration. Each Member Society may determine its own requirements for parentage verification. This may include such measures as comparison of stallion and mare breeding certificates, and/or DNA testing or blood typing.  DNA testing for parentage verification is highly recommended and is mandatory in the case of artificial insemination or embryo/oocyte transfer.

2.4.2  that each Caspian is uniquely and permanently identified. Such identification may be determined by each national member society and may take the form of freeze or hot brands, tattoos or micro-chips or any other permanent means. Micro-chipping is highly recommended for aesthetic and humane reasons.

2.4.3  2.4.3 that the Caspian is accurately described for identification
purposes, including colour, markings and whorls, and acquired markings such as scars brands and tattoos. Accurate diagrammatic representation of the physical appearance of the horse should accompany the owner's application for registration in the stud book of the registering Member Society and the registering Member Society must maintain such documentation on file in perpetuity.

2.4.4  that a Caspian conceived by AI, or as the result of embryo or oocyte   transfer has met the ICS rules regarding AI, embryo/oocyte transfer and surrogacy as specified in Clause 6 of this Schedule.

2.5 Notwithstanding clause 2.4.1 the ICS Council may request mandatory genetic testing, or re-testing, of progeny, sire and dam where it has reasonable cause to doubt the validity of a registration submitted by a member society. Such cases may include, but not be limited to: the progeny of pasture-bred mares exposed to more than one stallion of breeding age; progeny of a mare that has been exposed to more than one stallion within 30 days, whether by live service or artificial insemination; progeny sired by a non-licensed stallion; a Caspian registered with a colour which might appear to be genetically impossible; or failure to provide sufficient evidence that all registration requirements have been complied with. Cost of mandatory genetic testing, or re-testing, will be the responsibility of the owner, but anybody making a complaint should bear in mind that, if not upheld, costs could be reclaimed by the owner.

3  Pure Bred Caspian

3.1   Any horse not registered in the ICSB as a Pure Bred Caspian in accordance  with the above rules will not be recognised by the ICS as a Pure Bred Caspian.

4  Transfer of Ownership and Dual registration

4.1 Member Societies must satisfy themselves regarding the validity of ownership transfers and notify the ICS Registrar of such transfers of ownership in a timely manner. To avoid fraudulent transfers it is recommended that applications for transfer of ownership be authorized by signature of the current owner, or duly authorized representative, as recorded in the Member Society’s registration records. Where the currently recorded owner is deceased, the transfer should be completed by an authorized agent or representative of the estate. Where it is otherwise not possible to obtain the authorization of the currently recorded owner, then a Statutory Declaration should be provided to the transferring society by the new owner to confirm the completion of a bona fide sale.

4.2 To maintain an accurate census of the international Caspian population each Member Society’s stud book should be a record of Caspians bred or born in that territory. Transfer of ownership may not involve the alteration of a Caspian’s registration in the stud book of its original registering society. If already registered in the stud book of a Member Society, Caspians may be included in the register, or appendix, of another Member Society but only under their original stud book registration number, clearly identifying the territory of first registration. An additional census number may be allocated by an importing society for internal use only.  This census number may not be used for re-registration by the importing society, nor will it be recorded in the ICSB.

4.3 Where national legislation requires dual registration, as in the European Union, the national registration number of the original registering society shall be retained and an additional registering society’s number shall also be recorded in the ICSB.

4.4 No change in prefix or name will be allowed after first registration unless in exceptional circumstances, at the discretion of the International Registrar.

5  Artificial Insemination

5.1 In recognition of the Caspian’s status as a rare breed, artificial insemination and the use of transported semen will be encouraged in an attempt to expand the gene pool and provide semen to breeders in remote regions with limited access to a diversity of stallion lines.

5.2 Registration applications for progeny conceived by artificial insemination must be accompanied by Collection and Insemination Certificates. These Certificates must be submitted by the owner of the progeny to the registering Member Society and need not be forwarded to the ICS Registrar unless copies are specifically requested from the registering society by the ICS.

5.2.1 The Collection Certificate must be sent by the stallion owner to the mare owner with the transported semen. As a minimum the Collection Certificate must include the following details:

• the name, ICSB registration number and license number of the stallion at time of collection.
• the date and location of semen collection;
• the date of insemination/s if such procedure was performed at the location of collection
• or the date of transport if insemination was performed off-site;
• the type of semen used or transported: fresh, cooled or frozen
• the signature of the stallion owner or lessee
• the signature of the veterinary officer or technician who performed the collection if this was not performed by the stallion owner.

5.2.2 As a minimum the Insemination Certificate must include:

• the name of the mare and ICSB registration number
• the name, ICSB registration number and license number of the stallion from which the semen was collected
• the date/s and location of insemination/s
• the signature of the mare owner or lessee
• the signature of the veterinary officer or technician who performed the insemination/s

It is the responsibility of the registering Member Society to ensure that such information is complete.

5.3 All progeny produced by artificial insemination will have such fact listed on its Registration Certificate and must be parentage verified by DNA testing. It is recommended that the sire and dam be DNA tested at the time of collection and insemination if not already previously tested.  This will ensure that the foal can be parentage verified in the event that the sire and dam are no longer available for testing at time of registration.

5.4 Frozen semen may be used to sire a maximum of ten live purebred births after a stallion’s death. With justifiable reason Council may at its discretion waive this rule upon application by the Member Society representing the stallion owner or lessee. Such reason may include, but will not be limited to, untimely death of an outstanding stallion, or death of a stallion of a rare line.

6  Embryo and Oocyte Transfer

6.1 In recognition of the Caspian’s status as a rare breed, and to promote the careers of performance mares, embryo and oocyte transfer will be allowed.  Embryo transfer is defined as the removal of a ferti liz ed egg from a donor mare for implantation in a recipient mare. Oocyte transfer is defined as the removal of an unferti liz ed egg from a donor mare which is implanted in a recipient mare for subsequent ferti liz ation. In each case the donor mare is recorded as the dam of the progeny, and the recipient mare is the surrogate.

6.2 To allow the owner of a donor mare the same privilege as the owner of a mare that naturally carries her foal, but no greater benefit, only one foal per donor mare per year may be produced and registered. The exception will be twin foals resulting from one ovum where both foals are carried by the same surrogate mare in a single pregnancy. With justifiable reason Council may at its discretion waive this rule upon application by the Member Society representing the mare owner or lessee.  Such reason might include, but will not be limited to, mares representing a very rare line or, the transfer of frozen embryos to breeders in remote countries with limited access to new lines.

6.3 The application for registration of progeny produced by embryo or oocyte transfer must be accompanied by an Embryo/Oocyte Transfer Certificate. This Certificate must be submitted by the owner to the registering Member Society and need not be forwarded to the ICS Registrar unless a copy is specifically requested by the ICS. Such certificate must include as a minimum:

• the name of the donor mare and her ICSB registration number
• the name and breed of the recipient mare
• the name, ICSB number and stallion licence number of the sire at the time of service.
• the date of the embryo/oocyte transfer
• in the event of embryo transfer the date/s and method of service/insemination of the donor mare
• in the event of oocyte transfer the date/s and method of service/insemination of the recipient mare.
• the signature of the owner or lessee of the donor mare
• the signature of the owner or lessee of the surrogate mare
• the signature of the veterinary officer or technician who performed the transfer

It is the responsibility of the registering Member Society to ensure that such information is complete.

6.4 Any progeny produced by embryo/oocyte transfer will have such fact listed on its Registration Certificate and must be parentage verified by DNA testing. It is recommended that the sire, donor dam and recipient mare be DNA tested at the time of collection and insemination if not already previously tested.  This will ensure that the foal can be parentage verified in the event that the sire, dam or surrogate mare is no longer available for testing at time of registration.

7  ICSB Regulations

7.1 To ensure the integrity of ICS registration records and to facilitate the publishing of the ICSB, all registrations of a Member Society are to be submitted by the national registrar through the ICSB on-line database in a timely manner or by 1^st March latest. Member Societies who do not have access to the on-line database must submit annual returns and amendments to the ICS Registrar by 1^st March. Such off-line ICSB registrations may attract additional fees. For off-line returns the following information is required:

7.1.1 List of stock registered since the previous annual return.  This list must include:

• Prefix and name of pure-bred Caspian
• national registration number
• date of birth
• sex
• name, ICSB number and stallion licence number of sire and date of  issue.
• name and ICSB number of dam
• colour and markings
• name of breeder, and current address if known
• name and current address of owner
• method of production if by Artificial Insemination, Embryo Transfer or Oocyte Transfer
•  any relevant Identification numbers, e.g. passport numbers, microchip numbers etc.

The breeder is defined as the owner or lessee of the mare at time of service or insemination.

7.1.2 List of stallions licensed in previous year that includes:

• name and ICSB number of the stallion
• national stallion licence number and date of issue.

7.1.3 List of stallions gelded which includes:

• name and ICSB number of stallion and date of castration

7.1.4 List of ownership transfers (where known) which includes:

• name of Caspian and ICSB registration number
• name and address of previously recorded owner
• name and address of new owner
• date of transfer

7.1.5 List of deaths (where known), to include:

• name and ICSB registration number
• name of owner
• date of death

7.1.6  List of Exports

• Name and ICSB registration number
• Name of owner
• Country of origin
• Country of export