The Inside Scoop on Microchipping Your Horse
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By Susan Winslow
On September 26, 1997, Debi Metcalfe made the shocking discovery that her horse, Idaho, had been stolen from her North Carolina home. The event rocked her family to the core. She recalls, “People think this can’t happen to them. The truth is, it can happen to anyone. Idaho’s theft affected every member of my family. I realized just how deeply it impacted our whole life when I was riding in the car with my nine-year-old son and he asked if people who steal horses steal children, too.”
Metcalfe calmly assured her son that he was safe, but she was fueled with renewed determination to find her missing horse and make her family whole again. She inundated police departments, feed stores, newspapers, radio, and television with press releases and posters. At the time, the internet was still in its infancy, but she learned how to use email and spent just short of fifty-one weeks on the computer continuously sending out flyers and requests for help.
She says, “Finding Idaho became almost an obsession for me. Miraculously, a year later, we got a call from a person who saw one of my posters in a convenience store in Tennessee. He thought the horse looked like a horse that was competing at local shows. We’d had so many false leads, but we still followed up and, sure enough, it was Idaho.” With the help of Tennessee law enforcement, Metcalfe was able to make a positive identification, and less than 24 hours later, she was on her way back to North Carolina with Idaho, who is now over 30 years-old.
Idaho’s story was picked up by The Charlotte Observer in North Carolina, and Debi was inundated with calls and emails asking for help and advice. Realizing there was a need for a centralized resource, she responded by founding Stolen Horse International (SHI) to act as a clearinghouse for information about stolen horses. Her website, NetPosse (www.netposse.com) has become the leading national resource for alerts about missing or stolen horses, and Debi has become an outspoken advocate for microchip identification in the equine industry.
Debi says, “With Idaho, we got lucky. Her coat pattern was distinctive enough that we could prove she was ours. It was the pictures, police report, and stack of news and magazine articles that finally convinced the authorities, but it could have gone the other way. Microchipping is an indisputable means of identification. It’s not expensive, and the peace of mind it buys is invaluable.”
Microchipping can save the life of a horse that’s been stolen or sent to auction. It can also help prove ownership of a horse separated from its owner in the event of a disaster, like Hurricane Katrina or the recent Oklahoma tornado outbreak. It can also help track the identity, breed, and history of a horse purchased without access to hard copies of pedigree or background information. While lip tattoos can fade or become disfigured, and brands can be hard to trace, once the microchip is implanted and the information is entered into a database, it offers a foolproof means of permanent identification for the life of that horse.
Although the United States doesn’t require microchip identification for horses, it has become commonplace for dogs. The USDA made an attempt to institute a nationwide identification program a few years ago, but the program was scrapped.
The microchip is smaller than a grain of rice. It’s implanted into the horse’s neck where it remains for the horse’s lifetime. Implantation is relatively pain-free and offers minimal risk but maximum reward in the form of peace of mind for owners. Each chip is identified using a scanner that reads the radio frequency on the chip and retrieves the information from a database. The 125 kHz microchip, which has been used in America for the past twenty years, can vary in the number of digits it carries. The newer ISO 134 kHz microchip, introduced to the United States in 2013 through the FEI and USEF, consists of 15 digits. The first three numbers identify the manufacturer or country code and the remaining numbers are unique to that horse’s identification. Information such as the horse’s birth date, breed, owner, and health record information can be retrieved by simply scanning the chip.
Both types of microchips are identified through radio-frequency identification using a hand held scanner, but there is some debate over the use of two different frequencies in microchip identification for horses in America. With the introduction of the ISO 134 kHz microchips, there has been concern that older scanners may not have the capacity to pick up the information on the newer 134 kHz frequency.
New, universal scanners, also called forward-backward scanners, ranging in price from $200 to over $600, will pick up both frequencies and can be programmed to connect with multiple databases. Still, there is concern that some microchipped horses may fall through the cracks during the transition to universal scanners, if the old style scanner can’t clearly read the 134 kHz frequency. Despite the concerns, there is growing acceptance of this means of identification in the States.
Metcalfe says the transition period for the creation of a uniform frequency will probably last at least ten years, but she is adamant that microchipping horses is still the best means of equine identification. She shares the story of a recent theft that ended on a happy note thanks to a microchip. “On July 3, 2014, a grey horse named Odie disappeared from his rural pasture. His owner, Sara Schwenzer, contacted Stolen Horse International immediately and informed me that Odie was microchipped. She got a tip that Odie was in a neighboring town, but the local authorities wouldn’t allow Sarah access to the property to view the horse. It’s not every day that we’re close enough to be physically involved in retrieving a missing horse, but Sarah was less than two hours from our home. So, we grabbed a universal scanner, hopped in the car, and drove to the scene. The local authorities made Sarah wait at a parking lot across from the farm where her horse was being held, but they allowed my husband and I in with the scanner. He scanned the horse and it picked up the information in the microchip, proving without a doubt that the horse belonged to Sarah. She took possession of him immediately. It was the best 4th of July ever,” says Metcalfe with a grin.
Metcalfe has become a dedicated advocate who promotes the use of microchipping through speaking engagements, hosting microchipping clinics, and offering low-cost microchipping kits on the Stolen Horse International, Inc. website. As a pioneer in this field, NetPosse also hosts the NetPosse Identification Program (NIP) Registry, a worldwide database for horse owners. Metcalfe says, “It’s very easy to insert a microchip. Once it’s done, there’s a permanent record of ownership. I also recommend freeze branding for additional identification. At Stolen Horse International, we also recommend what I call the poor man’s copyright. Compile copies of all your important paperwork: registration papers; a bill of sale; photos of your horse looking clean and dirty; photos of your horse (with you in the picture) that clearly show all markings; photos of brands, whorls, scars and identifying markings; copies of veterinary records and proof of payment. Put all those copies in an envelope and mail it to yourself. When you receive it, don’t open it, but place it in a safe place that’s easily accessible. That way, you will have proof of ownership with a clearly dated chain of custody. If you have microchipped your horse, that’s the extra piece that can make a difference if you ever become separated from your horse through theft, disaster, or your horse just gets loose and goes missing.”
Liz Long, an active AQHA competitor and Sales Consultant for AKC Reunite, a company that sells microchips, describes the technology that makes this tiny device so effective. “The microchip is a passive RFID transponder. It has no power source and must be activated by a microchip scanner. There are a few different types of microchips commonly used in animals in the USA, so it’s important to use a universal microchip scanner, such as the AKC Reunite ProScan 700 or Quick Scan 650, to ensure the microchip can be read. The microchip has a permanent, unique number, and that number is cross-referenced in a recovery service’s database with the owner’s information. If a dog, horse, cat, ferret or any other companion animal is found, the microchip can be read with the scanner, the recovery service will be called, and the owner will be notified in order to be reunited with their pet. The other benefit for the microchip is that its permanence makes it uniquely helpful for identifying animals as they are transported or sold. If the microchip number is checked and recorded when vaccinations and health exams are given, then you can be sure that the documents go with that specific animal.”
As an insider in the horse industry, Long is seeing slow but steady growth in the use of microchipping as a way not only to identify animals but also to track their health. She explains, “Since 1994, in the state of Louisiana, all horses receiving a Coggins test must be permanently identified by microchip, brand, or tattoo. Because of this practice, most horses in Louisiana have a microchip. After Katrina, 364 horses were rescued or recovered from the floodwaters. Of these, 363 were reunited with their owners. As any rescue organization will tell you, this is an amazingly high percentage.”
AKC Reunite sells microchips, scanners, and hosts a database of information. Long says, “We are the nation’s largest non-profit pet recovery service. Celebrating our 20th anniversary this year, we have over 5 million pets enrolled in our service. We have a 24/7/365 call center with dedicated pet recovery coordinators helping get pets back home. Some auction houses are beginning to scan for microchips. A lot of equine rescue groups are going to auctions and scanning horses for microchips in the hope of possibly intercepting a horse before it is shipped to slaughter.”
Janine Jacques, founder of Hope 4 Horses and the Equine Rescue Network (ERN), heads up a small army of dedicated volunteers who do just that. She is an Associate Professor and Program Chair for Digital Marketing at The New England College of Business in Boston. She holds a BA from Boston University, an MBA from Bentley University, an MSCIS from Boston University, and a PhD from Nova Southeastern University.
This accomplished digital marketing professional is also a passionate horsewoman who founded the organization as a response to the slaughter industry, which takes the lives of 150,000 horses each year. Jacques has lobbied tirelessly with breed organizations in the United States to include microchip identification as a requirement for registration. She says, “Some of the breed organizations have been slow to embrace microchipping. Accountability is an issue. Organizations like the AQHA Full Circle Program offer voluntary ways for breeders and owners to provide for their horse’s well-being throughout its life, but we need to do more. Our volunteers go to two of the biggest US feeder lots for the Mexico and Canada slaughter plants. They scan horses, check lip tattoos and brands, and follow up with instant research on the horse’s background through the Internet. They’ll make calls right then and there to old trainers or owners to find help to get these horses out of the kill pen and into good homes. We’ve saved over 100 horses through our efforts, primarily through the identification of lip tattoos. As microchipping becomes more widely used, horses with microchips stand a much better chance of being reunited with an owner. Because the chips have a long life, even an old horse has a good chance of being identified through the microchip.” Many breed registries are considering this means of tracking and identification, and the Dutch Warmblood and Oldenberg registries now use this technology.
Jacques also points out the benefits of tracking outbreaks of disease through microchipping. “Say there are 250 horses at a show and they are all microchipped. If there’s an outbreak of contagious disease such as strangles, all of those horse owners can be notified immediately to take appropriate action. This technology can track an outbreak and help stop the spread of disease,” she says. ERN offers low-cost microchip kits on its website at www.equinerescuenetwork.com. The cost for the microchips is offset by sales of Janine’s book, Dogs, Donkeys and Circus Performers. She has also developed a nationwide microchip registry, the Equine Protection Registry, which includes the data from all microchips purchased through their program.
Microchip identification kits can also be purchased from veterinarians. Even if the kit has been purchased from an organization like NetPosse, AKC Reunite, or the Equine Rescue Network, it’s prudent to leave the implantation to an experienced professional. Dr. Annemarie Butler is the owner of North Shore Equine PC in Newburyport, Massachussetts. Microchip implantation is one of the many services she offers in her thriving practice on Boston’s North Shore. “Although we microchip horses regularly, it has not yet become commonplace,” she says. “All of our FEI horses in the United States are required to be microchipped. In the near future, it’s likely that all horses registered with the USEF will be required to be microchipped as well, but as of yet there are no regulations other than for FEI horses.”
She describes the implantation procedure in layman’s terms. “The microchip is implanted subcutaneously (under the skin) with a large gauge needle. Typically, a site is chosen under the mane of the horse, the skin is prepared aseptically, and then the microchip is inserted under the skin. Oftentimes I will place a small amount of local anesthetic in the area, prior to implantation, to make the procedure as painless as possible. Sedation is rarely necessary. Each microchip comes in a sterile syringe with an expiration date. The microchip should not be used if it is past the expiration date. Complications or negative effects of implanting microchips are rare in the horse. While it is possible to have an infection or a reaction at the implantation site or migration of the chip into nearby tissues, I have not experienced these side effects.”
While the odds of having a horse stolen out of a backyard paddock are slim, NetPosse, the Equine Rescue Network, and equine chat forums abound with heartbreaking stories of horses gone missing from leases, taken by disgruntled spouses, or in cases like Debi Metcalfe’s, someone actually stealing a horse. We all like to think it can’t happen to us, but the truth is, it can. Microchipping offers a safety net for the horse and peace of mind for the owner. Contact your local veterinarian or rescue shelter if you’re interested in finding out if your horse is microchipped, and ask if they offer scanning services. Microchipping is one of the most reasonable financial outlays in an expensive sport, offering a high return on investment should anything ever happen to your horse.
