FEI HorseApp Vaccination Records 2026: What Owners and Grooms Must Get Right

Digital horse health and vaccination records on a mobile-friendly yard screen

If you compete under FEI rules in 2026, your horse’s equine influenza (EI) history is no longer “passport only.” Vaccination details must also sit correctly in the FEI HorseApp. From 1 January 2026 digital registration was enforced; from 1 July 2026 each incorrect or missing vaccination record at horse inspection can attract a CHF 100 sanction. Warnings applied through the first half of the year — the grace period is over.

This is a planning checklist for athletes, owners, grooms and home yards, not a substitute for FEI Veterinary Regulations or your treating vet.

Why this is the conversation right now

Three things collided in 2026:

  1. Digital enforcement — the HorseApp vaccination module is the official second record alongside the passport.
  2. Sanction calendar — 1 July 2026 moved the issue from “please update” to “this costs money at the gate.”
  3. Busy summer calendars — multi-show tours, championship prep and youth finals leave less room for paperwork surprises.

National federations (including British Equestrian) have been repeating the same message: arrive with valid EI details in the app, not only in the book.

The core rules in plain language

  • EI vaccinations for FEI horses must be recorded in the passport and the FEI HorseApp.
  • New vaccinations must be entered by a veterinarian on the day of vaccination, in the presence of the horse.
  • The vet records vaccine name and batch number (as required by the module).
  • Only one historic vaccination can be entered as a summary of an older history — you cannot rebuild an entire past career incorrectly and hope it passes.
  • The vaccinating vet does not have to be an FEI official vet, but they must be registered to use the HorseApp as a vaccinating veterinarian.

Always verify the current wording in the FEI Veterinary Regulations and your NF’s HorseApp guidance before a big show. Rules pages move; the principle does not: digital + passport, same day, same horse.

Pre-show checklist (print this)

Two weeks out

  • [ ] Confirm the horse is on the correct FEI registration and the app profile matches passport number and microchip.
  • [ ] Open the vaccination module and check the last booster date against the FEI EI schedule (typically last booster within the permitted window of the competition — follow the official table, not yard folklore).
  • [ ] If a booster is due, book the vet so entry happens on vaccination day — not “we’ll catch up the app later.”
  • [ ] Align yard digital health logs with passport notes so nobody is working from a different story (what to record in horse health logs).

Day of vaccination

  • [ ] Vet present with the horse.
  • [ ] Passport updated and HorseApp entry completed the same day.
  • [ ] Batch number and product name captured correctly.
  • [ ] Screenshot or export confirmation stored in the horse’s file (phone + yard drive).

Arrival / inspection

  • [ ] Phone charged; HorseApp login works offline-ready if the venue signal is poor (download/cache as the app allows).
  • [ ] Passport present and matching the app.
  • [ ] Groom briefed on who is Person Responsible if a steward queries a line.

Common failure modes (and how yards stop them)

| Failure | Why it happens | Fix | |--------|----------------|-----| | Passport perfect, app empty | “We always did paper only” | Treat app entry as part of the injection protocol | | App updated days later | Busy vet / home after hours | No needle without app access that day | | Wrong horse / wrong ID | Shared logins, multi-horse lorries | One horse open at a time; read microchip aloud | | Booster out of window | Counting months casually | Use a calendar reminder 6–7 weeks before major FEI dates | | Only historic summary wrong | Trying to invent full history | One allowed historic entry — get the vet to do it once, carefully |

How this links to wider biosecurity

Digital vaccination is one tile in a larger biosecurity picture: isolation on return, shared water at shows, and gathering risk at multi-class venues. Pair this checklist with our equine biosecurity guide for shows and livery yards. Clean paperwork does not stop a virus — but incomplete paperwork does stop you competing, and it signals weak process to stewards.

What home yards can standardise this week

  1. One owner of the process — usually the head groom or yard manager, not “whoever remembers.”
  2. A digital health home — vaccinations, temperatures after travel, and notes in one place so the passport is not the only system (horse health records workflows).
  3. Show-pack template — passport, app login, vaccination proof, emergency contacts, and the course plan for schooling days in one folder.
  4. Post-show return protocol — even when the app is perfect, horses still need sensible isolation and observation after dense FEI gatherings.

YardForge angle (without confusing systems)

The FEI HorseApp is the official FEI vaccination channel. YardForge does not replace it. What we do help with is the yard-side discipline: health timelines, show prep, and clear course plans for home training so competition weeks are less chaotic. If your week is full of FEI admin, keep schooling plans simple and fair — design a course you can walk and print, and leave legal paperwork to the systems designed for it.

Bottom line

In the second half of 2026, “we have the sticker in the passport” is not enough for FEI inspection. EI details must be correct in the HorseApp, entered by a vet on vaccination day, and checked before you load the lorry. Ten minutes of process at home beats CHF 100 per error at the inspection lane — and keeps your horse’s competitive season on the track, not in the office.