Transfer of Ownership: How does it work?
Congratulations! You are about to purchase a Lusitano, or have already done so. And you (and your horse) will live in the United States or Canada! How do you get the horse transferred into your name?
Before you Buy a Lusitano
NOTE: There are 2 Lusitano Studbooks:
- The APSL Book of Births (Lusitano Registrations)
- The APSL Adult Studbook (Lusitanos that may produce offspring that can be registered as Lusitanos.)
If you are planning to buy a Lusitano, it is important to be sure that it is actually a Lusitano. A horse may have registered Lusitanos as parents, but may still not be a Lusitano.
To be a Lusitano, both the sire and dam of that horse must not only be registered as Lusitanos in the APSL Birth Book, but also must have been inspected and approved for breeding. This process is called Revision, and is required for a Lusitano to be entered into the Lusitano Adult Studbook.
So how can you be sure?
The first step is to ask to see the APSL registration papers, or ask for the horse's NIN (National Identification Number) so that you can look up the horse's current registration online.

Looking up the horse in the APSL Public Studbook
To look up a horse in the public studbook, follow the link in this button, which should bring up a form that looks something like the one at the right.
Fill in the form with either the horse's NIN or Name to search for the horse. If you have it, using the NIN is generally much easier, as many Lusitano horses have the same name.
Here we have used the famous horse, Rubi, as an example. You can see that the horse's breeder (with breeder number), and owner (with owner number) are listed in the results for the horse.

Starting the Transfer Process
Please know that USLA is here to help you with the transfer process. If the horse is not in the name of the current owner, a transfer may be required by APSL in order to move the horse from a previous owner to the current owner before the horse can be transferred to you as the buyer.
How do I get started with the transfer process?
Either the buyer or the seller may initiate and pay for the Transfer of Ownership. This must be done on the USLA website using the Transfer of Ownership form, which is found here.
At times, international sellers may start the process, however, the APSL will automatically bill USLA for the service before the transfer of ownership is completed, and for this reason, the USLA Transfer of Ownership form is required in all cases where the horse will be residing in the United States or Canada.
The process can be daunting, but USLA is here to help. If you have questions, fill out a "help" ticket on the website, and we will be in touch as soon as we are able. We look forware to helping you with your Transfer of Ownership of your Lusitano horses!