Horse identification. Are there ways to put identification on your horse other than a large brand on the body?

Question

example. cats and dogs get the chip. What are the alternate ways to put identification on a horse?

Answer 1

Hello,

Well here is another idea:

Horses Chestnuts are individual and much like a human finger print!

I would think it would positively identify a horse.  BUT, it wouldn't be so easy for some one to do a quick visual and figure out its a stolen or missing horse.  Like a brand might do.

Answer 2

Japan doesn't have a branding system, they go on marking and swirls.

So the cheapest way to identify you horse would be to document the markings and swirls.

Swirls are kind of like the "cowlick"  which is a lock or tuft of hair growing in a different direction from the rest of the hair, usually in a circular pattern.(swirls are most likely to be on the forehead, neck and chest )

It's impossible to find two horses with the same color, markings and swirls in the same spot.

Answer 3

You can microchip your horse

Avid is the nubmer-one, I belive, dog chip--my dog has an avid chip, and I think it is the number-one horse chip.

Avid's horse microchip site: http://www.avidequineid.com/

Answer 4

lip tattos and under the mane brands but there's also small back leg brands i know of three horses at my barn that have leg brands one just hase a simple upside down R for rambler a nother has a interlocking dand j for dj and a nother has a sertifide warmblood brand but that was put there after a warmblood inspation to say she really is one . hope this helps.

Answer 5

You can micro chip your horse, but right now, my vet told me that if a horse gets stolen and found, no one thinks to check for a microchip because it's so new, so I didn't have it done. I'm going to wait until it's something that either becomes popular, or fades away before spending that money. But just FYI, freeze brands do not really hurt the horse, and you can get them in all KINDS of cool patterns. You can even make up your own design. I think that's so cool, and you can put it anywhere on your horse, so it's almost like your horse can become your artwork!! Haha! Well good luck!

Answer 6

Tattoo maybe?

I think they tattoo cattle...so why not a horse?

Answer 7

Put a chip in them or tattoo the inner lip.

Answer 8

You could probley put a chip in a horse too.

But other than a brand...a tatoo on the lip maybe give him a scar some place(yeah mean but you asked xD) Put an ID tag on his halter (that's what we do when the huricanes come around) Other than that, nohing I can really think of xP

Answer 9

They do microchip horses, but other then that reg. thoroughbreds(race horses) have tattoos under there top lip. I have herd of branding the hoofs of the horse. Also they used branding for most breeds. Branding was originally used to identify a reg. breed... so if you looking for sum thing for protection I would do microchips, but also your vet draws coggins and coggins have your horses marking breed height and weight which you could use for indication... Or what else would work, but not permanate... hater or bridle tags. Other then micro chipping and breed registration and coggins its hard to idenify a horse with it being invisable and not located on the horse

Answer 10

u can always look into freeze branding... u can brand under their mane so u ant c it unless u r looking fot it and the up side to freese branding it instead of burning the horse and the hair never groing back they kinda in a way freeze the horse in that one part and the hair grows bach white so if your horse is white it wont work lol

Answer 11

Any equine vet can Micro chip your horse.  They normally do it at the time of your annual coggins test.  Tattoos can be placed under their lip like most racehorses have. A tattoo will stay readable on a lip for about 12 to 15 years but a chip can be removed.  A tattoo would be harder to hide or remove than a chip.

http://www.saferhorseracing.com/index.ht...

Answer 12

You can have your horse microchipped too.

Answer 13

my retired track mare has a tattoo under her lip than can be cross referenced with AQHA but that is only good if the current owners have transferred the papers. We have one gelding that the papers were lost on years ago and aqha shows the last owner was up north over ten years ago and I know personally of three different owners here in the south. So you can see where that would get confusing trying to rely on old records, tattoo marks, or unknown brands in the event of the horse being found away from its owner. I agree the chip is probably best from a proactive standpoint in finding a lost horse other than depending on someone to track down a lost owner.

Answer 14

you can put tags with numbers  on the halters like tagging a cows ear

Answer 15

Your very first answer you got was right.  I used to own a Lippazaner with a tatto on her top lip.  She had been foaled at Temple Farms in N.Y.C.  That could be a big help.

Answer 16

Besides branding the only way I know of to Identify the horse is tattooing the underlip or microchipping.

I have heard horror stories of chips migrating and causing physical problems.

For tattooing, (or even branding) the purpose is to have another entity to help "police" the use of the brand or tattoo.  For example, If one brands a horse with an un-registered brand, the effect is no greater than a physical marking like a sock - for a brand to work properly, it must be designated as existing on the horse (complete with photos of the horse with brand on file at the office of registry)and the brand must be registered with a national or state registry.  These things are used to discourage stealing of horses so let's say the horse gets stolen, what will a brand do if no one knows who it belongs to, who SHOULD have possession of the horse or how to get hold of you if something seems fishy?

The same is true of a tattoo - the registry needs to acknowledge it and note it on the registration papers to further help identify it and someone needs to know the reason behind the tattoo.

Here's an example.  My TB mare raced so she has a tattoo.  The tattoo is a number that coincides with something at the Jockey Club Registry (I can't remember what) - maybe the registration number of the animal.  It starts with a "Q".  The first purpose for this tattoo is for racing - when a horse comes into the paddock where they begin to be watched for anything cheating, they are identified by their tattoo in addition to known markings - the paddock attendant checks the tattoo to ensure the horse being raced is the horse the owner or trainer says it is (disallowing cheating by running a look-alike).  Also, if the horse is found in some mysterious circumstance, the registry can be contacted to ask who the horse is and it's last known owner.  Finally, in my case, the tattoo was used to establish my mares actual age when we were in the barn without papers handy.  (When I bred her, age was an issue so we had to be sure how old she really was).  For the Jockey Club registered horses, each year the prefix of the tattoo is a different letter - the year the tattooing practice started, the first letter was an "A".  Due to her tattoo beginning with a "Q" and knowing they get tattoed as 2 year olds when they enter their first races, we could deduce how old she was - later finding her papers supported our idea of her age.

I hope this helps!

Answer 17

Have their registary number tattooed on the inside of their lip. The vet will be able to do this. I prefere it over microchipping or branding. Microchipping is not as popular with horses yet as it is with dogs and cats. Brands can leave ugly supperfical marks.

Answer 18

I microchipped one of my horses 6 years ago  the only problem with this is that the chip does tend to migrate in horses ( they mostly put the chip on the near side wither area ) it is becoming more popular to do this and the more people that get it done to their horse the more vets will look for a chip in (stolen) horses etc, it can also be cheaper than a tattoo as its the same procedure as a dog  a smallish injection that takes two secs with no need for sedation.

Answer 19

Thay do mirco chip horses

Answer 20

The BLM and the Arabian Horse Registry freeze brand,...it goes on the neck under the mane

Answer 21

Home Again is a wonderful company that micro-chips horses. I believe they have a "no-kill" chip. With a no kill chip, if the horse is ever stolen or lost, the slaughter plants are required to contact the owners that are listed and give them the opportunity to get the horse back. Our local vet can do it for about $35. Your vet must be registered with the company. It is injected into your horses neck. It is painless and leaves no marks or scars.

Answer 22

they do tattoo under race horses lips, and can with others as well, its not visible, but they know where the horse came from then too.

Answer 23

actually, you have to find a place that does it

but they do micro chip.

i was going to have it done on my horse, for hurricane season, but it just slipped my mind, and it can get quite expensive.