Micro Chipping your Equine Friend
As responsible owners, the introduction of horse passports and micro chipping has been very much welcomed by everybody in the equine industry. Racing Thoroughbreds have required a microchip in addition to a valid passport since 1999. However, now, all horses born after 1st July 2009 or any horse having his first passport will need to be micro chipped.
Although horses who had a passport before July 2009 don’t require a microchip, however, many owners decide that they would like their horse micro chipped as it is the most reliable and accurate method of identification available. This therefore makes it a difficult task for any thieves who cannot tamper with a microchip.
A microchip is about the size of a grain of rice which is inserted into the ligament of the horses neck on the left hand side via an injection. This procedure can only be carried out by a vet. It is not a painful procedure, and only takes a matter of a second to complete.
Registering your Microchip
If your horse is also having a passport issued, the people issuing the horse passport will then register the details of the horse and the microchips number on the National Equine Database (NED)
In addition to this, the vet who carried out the procedure will have the relevant paperwork from the manufactures for the horses’ owner to complete and send back to the manufacturers who then will register the microchip accordingly.
For those horses that already have a passport and are being micro chipped at a later date, then the passport should then be sent to the issuing authority so that they are able to update records and also register the current information with the National Equine Database.
Once the details of your horse are submitted and placed on the NED or Petlog system, the police, RSPCA or vets can refer to the database to get your horses details if he is stolen.
Although it is not a mandatory requirement to have your horse micro chipped before taking out relevant horse insurance, it is advised that you consider getting him micro chipped. Should he be stolen, he will be easily identified and returned to his rightful owner.
If you have just purchased a horse or pony, it is advisable to give the NED a phone call to update their records with your details and current information.
