Launch of standardized microchips benefit horse owners
Equestrian Canada has recently rolled out a standardized microchipping initiative for horses in Canada.
Called the Canadian Horse Identification Program (CHIP), this new program will centralize and standardize microchipping of horses born or prominently moved to our country.
Key to this initiative is the implementation of International Organization for Standardization (ISO) compliant microchips with unique identification numbers for Canada. Before now, there were multiple options for horse microchips and no standard country designation.
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Microchips are very small, about the size of a grain of rice. In horses, they are implanted either in the lip or along the left side of the neck.
It takes a large bore needle to inject them just under the skin, where they permanently settle into the underlying tissue. They are inert and shouldn’t cause inflammation or any outward signs.
It is important to remember that these have no tracking capabilities and do not emit location data. Instead, they emit radio waves that are picked up by a standard reader, which when held close to the animal will display a unique 12-digit identification number.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has specified that horse microchips in Canada have the first six numbers “124 000,” and that each horse has a unique, sequential 12-digit number.
A Canadian horse scanned anywhere in the world will be immediately identified as being from our country.
Despite the word “horse” in the program name, all members of the equine family can be microchipped through CHIP, including donkeys, zebras, hinnies and mules.
This is a critical step in horse identification for Canada.
Standardizing the microchips used in Canada and our ID numbers is in line with other federal trackability programs in livestock, such as cattle.
Permanent identification that lasts the life of the animal and is tamper-proof is important for traceability in the event of a disease outbreak. This form of ID is required for many breed registries and sports organizations.
Microchips can be used for health history and can be important to identify and reunite horses with their owners during instances of theft or natural disaster.
The horse’s unique ID number is registered in the CHIP database and when looked up, will link the horse to the owner’s name and contact information.
Historical forms of horse identification have their benefits and drawbacks.
Noting unique markings such as stars on the forehead, socks on the legs and such, as well as unusual hair patterns such as whorls, was common for equine infectious anemia forms and breed registries.
There were also identifications that people did to their animals: branding, first hot, then cold, and lip tattoos.
Both branding and tattoos have certain advantages and significant disadvantages, including animal welfare issues related to pain from the procedure, challenges with legibility of the markings and damage to the tissue.
However, this does highlight one major downside of microchips, which is the lack of a visible marker.
The horse industry certainly won’t be adopting ear tags such as the cattle industry any time soon because of the esthetic downsides.
With growing awareness and acceptance by horse owners, it will become routine to scan horses, much as it has with our pet animals when we moved to microchips over tattoos for those animals.
Now that the standard microchip has been rolled out for Canada, it is a great time to consider adopting this new identification method.
Implanting a microchip is best done by a veterinarian when the horse is under sedation for another procedure. This is how it is often done for pets at the time of spaying and neutering, while they are under general anesthesia.
The needle is large and can hurt, which is not a great combination for a needle-shy horse if there is an alternative method.
Common procedures in horses that require sedation include dental work, castration, hernia repair and sheath cleaning. If you have a fall or early winter appointment booked with your vet, take the opportunity to discuss microchip identification.
More information on the CHIP initiative is available at everyhorsecounts.ca.
Source: producer.com