Re: [RC] Fw: [AERC-Members] Horse Identification - Heidi Smith
>Why a chip? Every horse at every ride gets an
inspection of the mouth for capillary refill at least once. A lip tattoo as used
by the Jockey Club on TB's would be easy to check while vetting in and taking
the refill. And it is well proven usage in thousands of race horses and for many
years. Why re-invent the wheel?
Truman
is right that tattoos seem to fade pretty readily. So while they work well for
horses that have careers that rarely last as long as three years, they likely
wouldn't be too applicable to endurance horses. (At least not to those
that last as long as we like them to last!)
That
said--is this REALLY an issue? I've heard occasional war stories from the
"bad old days" but it basically seems to be a non-starter. I can see
problems where all the money, marbles, and chalk are riding on one event--like
WECs. But that's why they have passports for FEI horses. And big
inspections to match up all those hair whorls and funky little markings and
scars. I suppose we could go to chestnut prints if we REALLY thought it
necessary....
