What is a grade horse?
A grade horse is a horse without papers from a breed registry. The horse may have unknown breeding, mixed breeding, or a known background that was never recorded. Grade is not a breed, and it says nothing about what the horse can do.
Register a grade horse
Grade Horse Registry will register a horse that has no breed papers. You create an account, add the horse, and pay $35 once. A photo is required before that paid registration is saved. The horse then has a GHR registry number, a certificate, and a public page. Optional membership is $35 per year and is not required. While a membership is active, a horse registration is $19.99.
That registration does not turn the horse into a registered member of a breed. It is a Grade Horse Registry record.
Grade horse papers
GHR papers are the registry number and the certificate for that horse. The public record can show the photo, the microchip number if you entered one, and the owner. The certificate is the registry's registration document. It is not a government title, and it is not a bill of sale. When a horse is sold, the owner starts a transfer. The transfer fee is $35, separate from registration. A completed transfer includes a bill of sale.
Grade horse vs crossbred
A crossbred horse has parents of two known breeds. A grade horse is a horse without breed-registry papers. Those are different facts. A crossbred can be grade if nobody filed breed papers. A horse of unknown breeding is also called grade. GHR does not certify which breeds are in a horse.
Grade horse microchip lookup
A microchip is implanted by a veterinarian. GHR does not sell or implant chips. If the horse already has one, put that number on the registration. Anyone can then search by chip, name, or registry number with no account. There is a microchip lookup page, and programs can call /api/microchip/<number>, which returns a horses array.
Showing and lost papers
GHR registration does not enter a horse in a show. Each show sets its own rules. Lost breed papers do not automatically make a horse grade: the breed registry may still have the record and may issue a duplicate. Ask that registry first. A GHR record does not restore another registry's papers.
More answers are on the FAQ. Prices are on the pricing page.