EQUINE | International News
EQUINE | International News
5 traceability of microchips . Equine rescue groups encounter horses that have lost their identity and endeavor to trace any permanent identification available to uncover their history .
Current methods available for tracing microchips are limited . Each trace begins with scanning a horse with a microchip-reading device and obtaining a microchip number . But what next ? If the phenotype or history of the horse presents clues to a breed or discipline group that might have the horse ’ s information , this is often the best place start . If there is no obvious place to begin the inquiry , then one contacts the manufacturer of the microchip . The first three digits of the microchip number indicate the manufacturer or country code , which can be looked up online . The manufacturer provides contact information for the distributor to which the microchip was sold . Contacting the distributor yields information for the next entity that acquired the microchip until an entity is reached that maintains data connecting the microchip to the horse . It can be a grueling process .
Attempts to trace microchips have highlighted some significant challenges . There are multiple parties involved in and expectedly responsible for keeping records associated with a microchip . Failure to keep or transfer records at any step in the pathway yields a permanent dead end , rendering the microchip essentially useless . The best outcomes in tracing have been achieved when the end information is maintained by breed registries or other equine industry groups with a vested interest in connecting the horse to its unique identification . Contact with the manufacturer has reliably been successful in obtaining the distributor information , but this approach is time consuming and not practical in urgent situations , such as a contagious disease outbreak .
Some microchip manufacturers do not require distributors to maintain records on each microchip sold , which results in a dead-end trace . Finally , a publically accessible online lookup tool for equine microchips is needed to streamline the trace-back process . Such a lookup tool could provide quick identification and contact information of the main entity ( breed registry , discipline group , registration system ) holding information on that particular microchip number while maintaining the security and confidentiality of the data until a specific request is made for information disclosure . Above all it must be recognized by the equine industry that simply implanting microchips in horses is not enough . There must be maintenance of data and structure of traceability built in behind the microchips for their intended purposes to be fulfilled .
CONTACT : Angela Pelzel-McCluskey , DVM , MS Angela . M . Pelzel @ aphis . usda . gov ( 970 ) 494-7391 USDA-APHIS-Veterinary Services Fort Collins , CO
KENTUCKY
Reducing Horseracing Fatalities : What Have We Accomplished and Where Do We Go from Here ?
he occurrence of fatal injuries to horses in
Tflat racing in North America has decreased by 23 % since the inception of standardized injury reporting into the Jockey Club ’ s Equine Injury Database . The declining trend in fatalities began in 2013 , and achieved statistical significance by 2015 . This reduction , we believe , can be attributed to meaningful change within the culture of horse racing as expressed in multiple safety initiatives . In Kentucky , this change has manifested not only as a decrease in racing fatalities , but also decreases in regulatory veterinarian-initiated scratches for unsoundness and the number of horses observed to be unsound post-race . These findings are evidence that the overall health of the racing population has improved . Multiple safety initiatives have been implemented and credited for contributing to the improved safety record . Examples include :
• Constraints on traction devices on horseshoes
• Changes to the regulation of therapeutic medications
• Systematic , objective monitoring and management of racing surfaces
• Implementation of “ voided claim ” regulations
34 • Equine Health Update •