does anybody have any info or comments on this product.i show  and travel alot and I wanted to get them microchipped if they got lost or stolen.

And is it true that if your horse was microchipped and it was being sent to slaughter they can't kill that horse ????

I agree!  They DO migrate, just like on a cat or dog, so who knows where it might end up.  And, unless the vet, etc has the brand of scanner that is compatible w/your brand of chip, it's not gonna find it anyway.  I would go w/a brand or even the freeze brand like the Arabs use (& Mustangs).  Years ago, there was a company out of Pullman, WA called Kyro Kinetics (I think that's the correct spelling) that had a registry for those.  I had my gelding done, since we were having horses stolen right & left in our area in MI.  The system they use can be run thru an NCIC (National Crime Information Center) just like your license plate & if the info is up to date, then will show who is the owner.  BUT I don't know if they are still in business & doing these or not - but I at least the states should have them.   Does your state have a brand inspector?  It can be documented that way too.

microchipping IS a good idea. yes they do migrate occasionally but not very often.  I've worked in mixed animal practices for over 20 yrs and every time I've scanned a horse the chip is still there.   once in a while they do seem to migrate out of dogs and cats.. it's a good idea tohave the periodically checked by your vet or whoever.. the company will pay to have them rechipped too, if it should come out.

 there are different companies that do chips and altho they can't give you each other's bar code # the scanner will tell you the animal is chipped and by which company.  AVID and Home again are probably the most popular in the US but if you plan to take your horse out of the country there are universal chips that would be better. 

probably microchipping and tatoo or freeze brand would be the best way to ID a horse. 

Anita

One of our neighbors just had seven of her horses stolen, it is terrible. But how many stolen horses usually make it back home. And from what I understand there is a kill plant less than an hour from me and when chipped or branded horses come in they are just moved to the front of the line to speed up the process....and we go to the sale almost weekly and I have never seen them check for anything. One night the local sherriff was tipped off and they were chasing a horse traded who had a stolen horse through the pens....other than that they check them in coggins thema nd sale them...

My neighbors laugh but we keep locks on all our gates but all they have to do is cut the wire.....

I agree, being raised near the killer plant near Dallas they check about as well as Government workers would if you know what I mean.

Branding does work(deter) and you can show with a brand, they don't frown upon them.  In fact it can help a judge remember your horse, since a good number of paint horses don't have much paint.  (Don't get me wrong I won tons on my mostly red horse in the early 90's but he had Sabino roaning on his belly and it set us apart.)

Tattoo his lip and put it on his papers...but they really don't check those either.  Fact is, if they want to steal your horse they will point blank.

Katrina?  If your house was demolished they wouldn't have any way of finding you to tell you they located your horse.  We have several Katrina evacuees living here and none of their animals were returned and they had tags on them.  I guess the tags had a phone number and address that no longer existed.

Invalid point.

If the owners keep their contact information current at the kennel club, then they could have been found. But I suppose it might be the first thing on their minds during such an event. I'd like to see the mircochip numbers go on the reg papers. I'd also like to see horses not shown before the age of four. :-)

-Betty

Ahh yes Terri, but you have the brains to plan ahead and you care about your animals.  I bet you wouldn't have stood on the side of the road and yelled for the Government to come get you and asked where your next meal was.  The whole state was so corrupt they ruined themselves.  Now they can't spend the money they've been given because of all the anti-corruption safeguards.

I think it's funny to look at how well Texas handled their evacuation by comparison.

Houston wasn't the only city evacuated, but it was the only one I heard of with problems.  Corpus, Rockport, and Port A all evacuated without a problem.  If people would have evacuated by the schedule that was set out it wouldn't have been a problem but no one listened and everyone tried to leave at once. 

Maybe it's just me, but I think you should have enough room to move everyone at once.  I have a 4 horse trailer and 4 horses.  That has always been the rule in my family and that has stopped me from buying another horse/cow, and getting in trouble, several times.  As far as supplies for at least two weeks, I'm sure I could find a feed store somewhere in Tx that would have my brand of feed if I ran out. 

What would your friend (or anyone) do if there was a fire or some other disaster and she had to leave?  Take out the divider and try to squeeze them in I bet.   As far as I'm concerned, there is NO excuse to leave an animal behind to die.

I talked to a rancher at a horse show that evaculated a 150 head of horses to higher ground. They had to rent muti-level semi's to do it and hauled animals for 2 days around the clock to get it done. That included moving additional cattle. Can you image moving all that livestock, then having to move it all back? He also said they sat in traffic with those large semi's for hours.

-Betty