2012 Texas 4-H Horse Validation Program Update

Beginning with this year's Horse Validation Program the process will now be all electronically completed using the 4-H CONNECT online management system. ALL 4-H members who wish to show in a District or the State 4-H Horse Show(s) or to be stalled in the Comal County 4-H Horse Barn will be required to validate their horse(s) on the 4-H CONNECT system.

BEFORE YOU BEGIN YOUR VALIDATION PROCESS, YOU MUST:

- Have a family and youth member profile established on 4-H Connect.

- Be an active/paid youth member of Texas 4-H for the 2011-2012 4-H year.

- Have digital photos of your horse(s) from the front, left side, and right side. These photos must be accessible for upload during the validation process. (see details below)

- For registered horses, you need to have a pdf copy of your horse(s) registration papers for upload (if you don't have a pdf of your registration papers, Janet can help you with that!).

IMPORTANT: Horse Validation is completed for EACH HORSE and will cover all 4-H youth members in that family profile. However, when validating your horses on 4-H CONNECT, you will select ONLY ONE 4-H youth member to conduct the validation under. Once a horse is validated, validation paid, and you begin registering for the District Horse Show, the validated horse(s) can be moved to the appropriate 4-H member(s) who will be exhibiting that horse in the show.

OTHER FACTS ABOUT THE HORSE VALIDATION PROCESS FOR 2012:
- Validation will be open from April 1 to May 1, 2012. Any horse validated before or after this date will not be accepted as a legitimate validated animal.
- An illustrated step-by-step instruction guide for families is available for download and reference from both the Texas 4-H website and the Texas AgriLife Extension Animal Science - Horse Section website.
- Validation cost for each horse will be $10. Each 4-H family validating a horse(s) will need to print an invoice for each horse and provide the invoice(s) and check to the county Extension office. The county Extension office will deposit these funds and cut one check for all validations.
- There is no limit to the number of horses that can be validated in the process.
- Ownership requirements are the same - The horse must be owned solely by the 4-H
member, his/her parents (biological or stepparents), brother, sister, grandparents, or legal guardian. Horses under lease to, but not owned by any of the named persons, do not qualify. Horses owned in partnership or jointly with any person other than those previously listed do not meet ownership requirements.- In the past there was a Grade Horse worksheet that included the need for sketching markings and colors of horses. That form is no longer required, however, it is a requirement for ALL horses that photos of the front, left side, and right side are uploaded during the validation process. The entire horse MUST be in the photographs. Photos should be as close as possible and markings should be clearly visible. The photo should be in jpg or gif format.
- A pdf or jpg of the registration papers will be uploaded for registered horses. If you are not able to scan papers, contact Janet and she can help you.


BECAUSE THIS IS A NEW SYSTEM, IT IS STRONGLY ADVISED THAT YOU DO NOT WAIT UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE IN CASE OF ANY COMPUTER, PHOTO, UPLOAD ISSUES!