EQUINE | Equine Disease Update
Equine Disease Quarterly
FROM: EQUINE DISEASE QUARTERLY
College of Agriculture, Food and Environment Department of Veterinary Science
October 2017 Volume 26, Number 4
W
ith the growing occurrence and unpredict-
able nature of natural disasters, many horse
owners are looking for ways to protect their animals.
In addition to disasters, horse theft also is giving
horse owners cause to look for guaranteed methods
of identifying their horses. Microchip identification
is an excellent tool for improving the traceability of
horses in disease outbreak scenarios and allows for
the rapid and efficient management of investigations
to minimize spread of contagious diseases in horses.
Diseases such as equine herpesviral myeloencepha-
lopathy, strangles, influenza, salmonellosis, and others
can spread rapidly and the ability to quickly identify
animals aids veterinarians, farm managers, and other
animal health professionals in developing the most ap-
propriate action plan to protect them.
Microchip implantation is safe, simple, and inexpen-
sive and usually will last a horse’s entire life. The cost
is generally about $50 to $75 and the chips currently
being manufactured are functioning for 25 years or
longer.
The tiny, non-migratory chip is the size of a grain of
rice and takes only seconds to implant with a small
syringe by a veterinarian or other trained person. The
chip is implanted halfway between the horse’s poll
and withers, just below the mane in the nuchal liga-
ment on the horse’s near (left) side. The injection site
is cleaned and disinfected prior to injection and some-
times shaved, ensuring little to no occurrence of an
adverse reaction.
The microchip is encapsulated in glass and is etched
with a unique one-of-a-kind number. The accredited
veterinarian will use the unique microchip number to
record on official health papers and medical records.
It is up to the owner to have that unique code main-
tained in personal medical records or registered with
a commercially available and searchable database.
A special handheld scanner is used to read the mi-
crochip through the skin of the animal. The scanner
reads the number on the chip through radio frequency
identification technology. Although there are several
different companies manufacturing these microchips,
most scanners are now considered universal as they
are engineered to read a common frequency.
In the 1990s, Louisiana became the first state to re-
quire mandatory unique identification for all horses
and annual Coggins testing. Microchips are a unique
identifier superior to lip tattoos or brands since brands
are not unique per horse and both tattoos and brands
can be altered and/or difficult to read. Many breed or-
ganizations are now requiring microchipping for reg-
istration. Microchipping became especially important
in the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Gustave,
Ike, and Isaac in Louisiana when many horses were
separated from their owners and needed to be identi-
• Volume 19 no 4 • December 2017 •
11