tattooing

[Marsha Cassada]

When the equine dentist came, she noticed the older mare I have now is tattooed. I've had one other older mare that was tattooed. Is this still done? Were all registered mares tattooed at one point?

 

[amysue]

I was always under the impression that mostly just jockey club reg. Thoroughbreds were tattooed on the upper lip. Im pretty sure tjey still tattoo tbs. I do know that some breeds require some form of permanent id but now a days you mostly see microchips.

 

[bevann]

I think many years ago some of the bigger farms did tattoo some of their horses.I was told that NFC in Texas did some of theirs.Have to look at my old Egyptian King son to see if he is done.If you have lots of foals that are the same color it would be a great way to keep track of them.,

 

[JAX]

The horses that I got from NFC were all tattooed. Still have two of them. Wow I just realized one is probably about 30 years old now.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

I think many years ago some of the bigger farms did tattoo some of their horses.I was told that NFC in Texas did some of theirs.Have to look at my old Egyptian King son to see if he is done.If you have lots of foals that are the same color it would be a great way to keep track of them.,

The color thing makes sense. Both mares are black bays. The mare with me now was foaled in NY in 1993.

 

[amysue]

This was a good question and im glad you asked it. I never knew of tattooed minis before but it totally makes sense not only for identification purposes but because you dont see it like you do with a brand. Im learning something new evey day. Ive seen all kinds of brands (mostly hot brands created by ranches and breedes to identify their stock) and lots of freeze marks using the alpha angle system or id numbers especially on imported shetlands and ponies. I have never found a lip tattoo before but now ill pay closer attention.

 

[paintponylvr]

I'd love to do some freeze branding on ours! The alpha/angles would work and I finally found some info on it, but couldn't justify the cost at the time. Not sure the folks who were doing it then are still doing it (hours away in different state) - haven't checked.

Also came from the west and while I was still in MT, I developed what I would have loved to do as a personal/farm brand. Could still use it - but folks around here consider both types (hot & freezing) to be too cruel and I'd probably get "hung" for it...

SO... just haven't taken off with the "idea".

Also while out west - many large breeding farms, or stallion stations, use (d) neck bands. There were often several hundred mares on the property with up to 10 stallions, of different breeds, standing at stud. The numbers on them stood for different things - the color often stood for the stud the mare was bred to. Sometimes the mare wore two neck collars - one id for her personally, one to id the stud she was bred to. Knew of several ranches in CO that hot branded the mares with #s - standing for the year they were born & last 2-4 #s of her registration number... Haven't seen any brands like that in many years!

NOW, after seeing the ear ink tatoos on dogs, I wonder how difficult it would actually be to tatoo a horse's lip! Hmmm....

 

[disneyhorse]

I think microchipping is the modern way to "brand" horses. The Andalusian registries require a microchip... Many large herds of andalusians are all solid greys! So they walk out with the microchip reader to correctly ID a horse.

 

[ForeverFarma]

My old man who just passed away was tattooed on his lip- there was even a notation on his papers. He was born at NFC.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

I do not know what I think about microchipping. I've read somewhere that it can cause cancer. A foreign body in the body--can't be good. I wonder what the statistics for lifespan of animals that have been chipped? Has it been in practice long enough for any solid research on it?

 

[disneyhorse]

Marsha... Plenty of humans and animals have foreign bodies implanted in them... Hormonal birth control rods, dental implants, hip replacements and screws in jaws.... I can't see a little grain of rice sized microchip causing damage to animals which live shorter lives than humans....

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Microchip implants are marketed as a safe and permanent form of identification and are being ‘pushed’ worldwide. In fact, one pharmaceutical giant boasts that scientific studies prove that microchip implants are “totally painless and perfectly tolerated by the animal”. It also goes on to state “microchips are never rejected by the body”.

However, other scientific tests disagree with these findings. Tests on mice and rats showed some animals (ranging from 1% to 10%) developed “aggressive and lethal microchip-induced cancerous growths”.

Another point which is often denied or dismissed is the movement of these chips. Some say “it is impossible” but chips have been found to migrate. In some cases, they have been found at the base of dogs’ tails and in their rear legs.

If my animal was one of the 1%, I wouldn't be happy.

The microchip contains a radio transmitter, an antenna, and a microchip. It's not just a grain of rice or a neutral piece of metal.

The sites also state that it is a painful procedure, as a large needle is used, and the animal should have a local anesthetic.

Any time a pharmaceutical company wants to foist something on me, I hear alarm bells. It is the only industry in the country that is protected BY LAW against suits for vaccinations gone wrong. Wouldn't we love to have that legal protection on our farms.

Just my two cents on the topic of microchipping.

 

[disneyhorse]

Most of the horses I know are microchipped. All of my cats and dogs have always been chipped. I do know of one stallion whose chip migrated down his neck.

Our vet does a local anesthesia on the horses, and my cats/dogs are always done while being spayed or neutered, as I do believe there is some pain.

But I've never seen or heard of cancers or growths there, even on horses or pets that are older.

 

[srminiatures]

this kinda goes with what I just asked... can you brand a mini and still show it? It that allowed in the show ring?

 

[sassy1]

Virtually all Breed Societies here in Australia require some form of physical identification.

Most of them have required either a freeze or fire brand until the last few years. It is Law in all Australian States that all Horses & Ponies (& Cattle) must be able to be readily identifiable.

Some of our Equine Societies now accept Micro-chipping as a form of identification (and some still won't accept it as the only form of identification).

All our major Agricultural Shows require an equine to be positively identifiable by some permanent means. Cattle and Sheep are usually ear tagged. Some Cattle are tail-tagged.

My own ponies are fire branded. I have considered freeze-branding but as most of my ponies are broken coloured, they would need to be twitched as the brand would have to be held on longer.

I have just had one of my ponies micro-chipped as she will be going to a big Royal Show in another State and that particular Show insist that all Equines must be chipped (and surprise, surprise) the micro-chip must be registered with the Micro-chip Registry that they run!

The Vet administered a local anaesthetic and she was twitched to have it implanted into her neck muscle/crest. The Micro-chip number will be added to her Registration papers.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Sassy1, would the dna test be considered adequate identification?

 

[shorthorsemom]

I used to tattoo all my dogs many years ago until microchips became available and then I have used the microchips. My vet uses home again microchips. I get my dogs done when they are neutered if possible. My dogs are old and have not had any issues with the microchips thus far. I do believe there is much more problems with cancer associated with certain vaccines than with the chips. I also think the safety outweighs the health concerns.

My horses are not chipped but they do have very unique coloration. I also think chipping is more uncommon in horses because I have never heard of auctions checking for microchips on horses to see if they were stolen.. I do know one person that bought a thoroughbred horse and many years later noticed the horse had a lip tattoo and researched the horses number. The horse was reported dead by owner and insurance was paid out. I never heard how that one turned out.. horse was "dead" in Florida and turned up in a pa stable owned by a young girl when horse was old.

. For dogs.. rescue and shelters typically can rehome a stray after only 10 days. That is a small window of time to find a lostdog. First thing I do when I find a dog is take it to my vet for a scan. I don't let my dogs run free but know of cases where dogs have escaped car during traffic accident and run off. Chipping is a good thing in dogs in my opinion. For horses I would tend toward tattoo or freeze branding if I needed permenant identification for a horse.

Oh.. and as a fyi...in pa you can obtain a lifetime dog license if dog is microchipped. Another bonus.

A few weeks ago I noticed a dog running down the center of the road dragging a chewed off horse lead rope. I stopped and tried to coax the dog to me. Left my car and tried to catch dog but he took off across a field and I was unable to follow. Really bothered me... I was chatting with somebody a couple of weeks later and they mentioned their friend had lost his dog. Description matched. He called me. I provided what I knew...which wasn't much information but gave him another place to put up posters. Dog was not neutered and not microchipped or tattooed..so sad. Haunts me still. I just thought ..if only I could have grabbed that rope. Sigh.

 

[disneyhorse]

With cats and dogs too... In the event of being hit by a car (sometimes obliterated) our city shelters can scan the bodies for a chip and notify you of what happened to your pet whereas a tattoo might not be feasible...

 

[secuono]

Issue with chips is that they are all different and not all readers can work with all chips. A tattoo or brand is easily visible, no need to use any scanners and hope you have the right brand.

Never had a vet use an anesthetic before they stuck in the microchip, so it hurts for sure and some can fail over time. It's not foolproof. With tattoos, it should be on the belly or inner thigh of dogs/cats and never in ears as some people have gone as far as cutting ears off of stolen pets in the past.