Read About Horse Microchipping

Horse identification plays an important roll in tracking and finding lost or stolen horses. Horse microchipping is considered one of the most efficient methods of horse identification.

What is horse microchipping?

Technology has spread to every part of the world, including animal identification. For several years people have been using microchips to track dogs and other animals, but the trend has spread to livestock, including horses. Horse microchipping is a means of horse identification that requires a vet to inject a small chip into a horse so the horse can be tracked via a high-tech scanning system.

The microchip that's used in horse microchipping is very small and is inserted in the horse's neck, right below its mane. Your vet can put the chip in quite quickly and it's believed that the implementation process is painless. When scanned, each chip shows a unique identification number so the owner of the horse can be found immediately.

Horse microchipping also helps owners recover stolen horses rather quickly. When an owner believes one of their micro chipped horses have been stolen, they can call in the horse's microchip number and put their horse in an "alert" system. The alert goes out to all animal control agencies, law enforcement agencies and vets. So, anytime this horse gets scanned, the horse is confiscated and the owner is called immediately.

One distinct disadvantage to using horse microchipping is that it doesn't allow you to identify your horse from a distance. Because the chip is hidden, you can't see it, which makes it hard to identify your horse if you're not standing next to a scanner.

Do I have to use horse microchipping?

No. Technically you don't need to engage in any horse identification methods other than carrying, or having proof, of your horse's papers. However, experienced horse owners will tell you that horse identification is a good if not great idea.

If you don't want to use horse microchipping, you can use freeze branding or hot iron branding. Freeze branding marks a horse by applying an extremely cold brand to the horse's hide. This process permanently kills the pigmentation of the hair in the branded area. Hot iron branding prevents hair growth in the branded area by applying hot irons to the area.

Another horse microchipping alternative is hoof branding. This method of branding is painless, which is a feature that some horse owners like. A brand (usually a number or the horse owner's zip code) is burned into the horse's hoof. The horse does not feel this, which is nice however, this has to be done about twice a year because horse hooves grow and as a result, are trimmed. This means that the tattoo or brand is shaved off. Horse microchipping is more permanent than hoof branding, but it's not as visible.