benefits of registration?

Can anyone tell me what the benefits of registering a horse are?

If you are going to show in any breed show like the AQHA, they have to be papered. For breeding, many people want papered horses so they can have papered colts and for re-sale, a papered horse will bring more money because his lineage can be traced and is not questionable like so many grade horses.

If a registered horse is stolen it makes it easier to trace and if found there can be no doubt as to who the real owner is- also if the horse is marked ( freezemarked - branded ) it should make it harder for someone to sell on a stolen horse as the papers should always be asked for ( and if the horse is nicked they ain't gonna have the paperwork ) so having a registered and properly marked horse is a deterent to horse thieves.

yes, and it costs very little to register/transfer registration if you do it promptly. Many people that don't bother with it wind up regretting it later (and the fees are usually much higher, too).

Please read this article:

Just how important are those papers? - Trot.org Forums