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Hurricane season is upon us again with 4 named storms
already passed. Those of us who have horses in our care
are once again faced with the daunting prospect of
losing our charges due to downed fences or other damage
caused by high winds and debris. A means of permanent
identification that positively links an animal to its
owner is paramount to the successful return of that
animal if the unthinkable occurs. There are several
means of permanent identification available. Racing
Thoroughbreds are routinely tattooed on the upper lip as
a means of identification. A database is maintained by
the Jockey Club which is accessible for a fee. As many
of these horses age, however, the tattoo becomes
completely or partially illegible. Brands and freeze
brands are routinely used by many breed registrations in
the same manner. A recent study published found that
branding a horse causes significantly more discomfort
than microchipping (duh?).
Microchipping is an extremely efficient way to identify
your horse as belonging to you in the event of an
emergency. It automatically links the animal to your
information maintained in an electronic database
accessible by telephone or the internet. It involves
injecting/inserting a tiny transponder, roughly the size
of a grain of rice, into the nuchal ligament, the heavy
connective tissue at the crest of the neck. It causes
no more discomfort than any routine injection. The
transponder, once inserted, does not move as is common
in small animals, and does not cause any tissue reaction
or untoward effects.
There are several manufacturers offering microchips
today. Some things to keep in mind when choosing a
microchip include any applicable fee involved in not
only the initial registration with the database, but
also any fee that might be charged to update an existing
registry due to relocation or change in telephone
number. The frequency of a microchip should comply with
the International Organization for Standardization, that
is, it should be readable worldwide. It does no good to
have a transponder that cannot be read. In addition,
the database linking the microchip to you should be easy
to access with support available 24 hours a day 7 days a
week.
Here at Dragonfly Equine Medical Services, we use and
recommend the ResQ pet tracking system as this program
meets all of the above recommendations. It offers FREE
lifetime registration, FREE lifetime updates and FREE
support 24/7 for animals and their owners. It makes
your horse readily identifiable to any veterinarian or
animal shelter that uses the internationally accepted
technology of the ISO. Each microchip comes with a
small tag which can be attached to any halter for travel
or when you know a storm is coming. ResQ offers a
lifetime of peace of mind for less than the average cost
of a month of upkeep.
If
your horse is not microchipped, some other measures that
may help others identify your horse after a hurricane is
to mark them using a brightly colored grease marker,
designed for cattle, along both sides with your phone
number in LARGE, BOLD numbers. Additionally, you can
write your information on surveyors tape and braid it
into a mane and tail. If you turn your horse out with a
halter it should be leather or alternatively have a
leather break away strap to reduce the chances for
injury.
Hopefully we will have a quiet year and slide on into
autumn without incident. We do, however, need to
remember that these animals rely on us for protection in
any event. So we do all that we can for these
magnificent creatures placed in our charge to ensure
their care and safety.
Thanks, Dr. Rusin. Now it’s your turn. Send any
questions c/o Laura Causey at
lgcmecs@equinecommunications.com and Dr. Rusin will
try to give you complete, helpful, insightful answers to
your questions. |
