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Theft Prevention - ID
Subject Index § Introduction § Overview § Branding § Marking & Other ID § Non-visible ID
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Subject: Horse Theft Prevention #4 Since Article #3 left off with information about the process of freeze BRANDING, today's article will begin with freeze MARKING, and then cover, if only briefly, lip tattoos, hoof branding, trichoglyphs, signalment, chestnuts. FREEZE MARKING: As a point of reference, freeze marks are most often associated with the BLM (Bureau of Land Management) mustangs, and the Arabian Horse Registry. The mark is applied to the neck of the animal on the side of the owner's preference. A freeze mark can actually be applied to any equine besides the BLM and Arabian horses, and to foals as young as 3 weeks (baby sized irons are used and the mark grows as the foal does). A freeze mark is a permanent, unalterable and painless way to identify each animal as an individual. Only specially trained and licensed technicians can apply the mark, and accurate records are kept on each and every equine identified in the United States as well as countries around the world. This system uses the International Identification System (IIS) which combines the application of unalterable freeze-marked symbols with a record of observable signalment, including trichoglyphs (hair whorls, cowlicks and patterns). It utilizes angle numerical and angle alphabetical symbols which are copyrighted, and their use is licensed only for official programs. The system allows enough numbers to have a unique mark for each horse in the world and is adaptable to computer data retrieval. In the IIS, unalterable angle numbers are used instead of alterable Arabic numbers. These angle symbols can be identified by human subjects at three to five times the distance Arabic numbers can be identified. Freeze marks are read by looking at the line of symbols and recognizing not only their place in the "string", but which numerals 0-9 are represented. The first large symbol indicates the registering organization or state; the next two smaller symbols, one above the other, indicate the year of the animal's birth, and the underlined symbols show the registration number or state number of the animal. To see excellent pictures of freeze marks on real horses, and to see illustrations of the marks with directions for reading them, go to the following address: http://www.horseweb.com/client/kka/kka1/html where you'll find not only the above mentioned information, but more systems of physical ID. This is a site well worth visiting if you have Netscape or some other web browser. To have an equine freeze marked, the technician shaves and washes with alcohol, a place on the animal's neck. While the irons are chilling in liquid nitrogen, the technician will completely visually examine the animal, looking for individual markings such as stars, snips, socks, hair whorls and cowlicks, scars, and any other marks. The technician fills out a schematic drawing of this animal, and the drawing, along with a copy of the freeze mark and owner information will later be made into a small laminated card, which can serve as proof of ownership. Once the irons are chilled, the technician places them on the shaved part of the neck and holds them there for the appropriate length of time (varies depending on coat color, age of the animal, etc.). The hair at the site of the mark will grow back white, and will always be white and unalterable. On light-colored animals, the iron is simply applied for a longer time, and the mark will be bald. The hair will not grow back in. There will be a period of time after the time of the marking when the marked place swells, goes down, and forms a scaly scab until the next hair growth, at which time the white hair or bald spot appears. Even the white marks, if examined closely will have an area of balding at the very center of each symbol. It is suggested that the mark be kept clipped, especially during the winter, to improve clarity. This is the only identification method that qualifies a horse to be entered into the National Crime Information Center computer. NCIC information is available to any law inforcement officer nationwide. Livestock officers can determine if the horse in question has been reported stolen and who the owner of record is simply by checking with the NCIC. Since a thief can be proven to be in possession of stolen property if caught with a stolen freeze marked animal, very few marked horses are stolen. They are passed up for animals with no freeze mark, or if they were stolen they've been released when the freeze mark was discovered. Slaughter houses check for freeze marks due to the regulations regarding the BLM's Adopt-a-Horse program (all wild horses are freeze marked before adoption) because of the reward offered by Kryo Kinetics Associates, Inc., (the official, approved freeze marking program people) and because they know that they have to GIVE back any freeze marked horses they have purchased that have been reported stolen. Many unmarked horses have been purchased from slaughter houses by their rightful owners because the identity of the horse could not be proven. Cost of freeze marking depends on several factors: most marks are applied at organized clinics, so the price will vary dependent upon the distance the technician has to travel and the number of horses to be marked at the clinic. In the case of the clinic a friend and I sponsored there were 12 horses to be marked, and the technician had an almost 300 mile drive to get to us, so the lowest price she could charge was a one-time fee of $65 per horse. All the paperwork was done by the technician and then sent to Kryo Kinetics, where it is kept on file, with copies sent to the registries with which the newly marked horses were listed, and then sent also to the California State Bureau of Livestock Indentification If freeze marking sounds like the solution you've been looking for, call Kryo Kinetics, Inc., in Tucson, Arizona (USA) to find out who the technician is in your area. Their phone number is: 602-749-2883, or you can visit their web site at the address listed earlier in this section. LIP TATTOOS: These marks are most often associated with the Thoroughbred racing industry. Although many think that the Jockey Club does all the tattooing, it is actually done by the Thoroughbred Racing Protective Bureau. All the Jockey Club does is record the number on the foal certificate. Tattoos are usually applied to the inside upper lip of the horse, but can fade with age or can be masked or removed with lasers. Most tattoos last an average of 4-5 years, often fading of their own accord as the ink is reabsorbed into the horse's body. Tattoos are visible to the eye if you can get close enough to roll the horse's upper lip up and back. On a frightened horse in an auction yard, that might be difficult to do. Some race tracks require lip tattoos, some do not. I've heard that some even require that horses be freeze marked. I don't have any information about tattoo costs, nor do I have phone numbers for either the Jock Club or the Tbred Racing Protective Bureau. Perhaps one of you out there could share it if you have it. HOOF BRANDS: Now, this is something that I know very little about, except that my farrier brought me a little ad about it from one of his journals. The ad was hawking the irons which can be used to burn a number of some kind into the surface of the horse's hoof. The problems with this seem obvious, but I may be missing something. What about reading or seeing the brands when horses are standing in mud? What about getting too carried away with the irons and doing serious damage to the horse's hoof? This certainly isn't permanent, and would have to be done frequently as hooves grow. Apparently, at least to someone I heard, this is a system used in England. Could one of our English members enlighten us? SIGNALMENT: This system utilizes the horse's natural color and markings and is used in registration papers, health certificates, transport papers, etc. This is valuable only where unique markings on the body, legs and head exist. One of the problems with it is that a horse's body coat colors can fade during certain seasons of the year, and clipping of certain colored longhair on horses (e.g. bays) can change color. CHESTNUTS (NIGHT EYES): in the 1980's there was a company which advertised chestnut "finger printing", in which a veterinarian or trained technician scanned the chestnut with a scanner. The scanned image was then converted to a number. The company assessed a reading fee, a maintenance fee, ownership transfer fees, etc. Chestnuts remain unique to each horse for all of its life. Regrowth after surgical removal is almost identical to the original pre-removal pattern. Chestnuts can, however, be surgically altered. The company which created this system has since, as far as I can tell, gone defunct. TRICHOGLYPHS (WHORLS OR COWLICKS): Each horse has a unique pattern of these whorls. They appear most commonly on or about the face, neck and flank. The Jockey Club and Paint Horse Association (race horse) used to require identification and location of these on the registration papers. I do not know if they are still required. As far as using them to identify an individual horse, one would have to get "up close and personal". Many auction yards do not allow nonemployees to get inside the pens, so identification has to be made from a distance. You can see the problem with this. There are those who believe that an extensive and concise written description of a horse should be enough to identify it. Well, that may be true for you, or a close friend or relative to identify your own beloved horse, but what about asking a law enforcement officer who's never seen your horse before, to pick out your bay mare from an auction yard full of bay horses? How many horses have we all seen which have absolutely no white or other distinguishing marks on them? How is a stranger to pick out the one from the many? And what is there on this written description which will deter a thief from looking over your porperty or the stable where your horse is boarded, with an eye for some quick cash? Is there a mark on your horse which says to the thief, "You can't sell me because of this mark, so don't take me"? I urge each of you to think this over carefully and make some kind of informed decision about what will be right for you. Which system will increase your chances of not becoming a victim, and will increase the probability of recovery if your horse is stolen? Article #5 will cover other means of identifying horses, including blood typing and microchipping. *********************************************************************** Subject: Horse Theft Prevention #5 This particular article will cover ways of identifying horses using non-visible means. The two methods to be covered are: microchipping and blood typing. MICROCHIPPING involves implanting a small microchip in biocompatible glass in the nuchal ligament in the horse's neck, the process being similar to administering an injection. When a radio frequency scanner is passed over the implantation site, the transponder is activated and returns the ID number to the reader where it is displayed. The most significant uses of this technology, as presented by its supporters are these: positive proof of ownership and ease of tracing in the event of an emergency, theft, separation by acts of nature (floods, fire, hurricanes, etc.); identifies positive EIA (Equine Infectious Anemia) reactors and tracks their movement; verifies health certificates for travel; establishes purity of genetics with a positive ID; barcodes can be used for breed registration papers, health certificates, medical records and lab samples. Once the mircochip is implanted, there is no visible mark, nor can it be felt by the hand. Reportedly there are few cases of tissue rejection of microchips or of the chips migrating. Some concerns and questions which need answers: as far as I have been able to tell, at least as of this writing, there are at least 3 makers of microchips and readers (scanners), none of which have the capability of reading the chips from competing companies. Very few auction yards and slaughter houses even have one reader, much less three, and there are no regulations that I know of requiring such places to use scanners. Three different companies providing microchips and serial numbers increases the likelihood of those serial numbers being duplicated between companies, it seems to me. There have also been cases reported where readers (scanners) have failed to read their own compatible chips. There is some discussion surrounding the issue of whether or not these chips are legal as far as the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) is concerned (re: food additive issues). One should ask why there isn't standardization of chips and reader compatibilities in the U.S. as there is, apparently, in Europe. Does that mean than an expensive warmblood stallion with a chip implanted in Europe could be imported to the U.S. and then not have any of the scanners here be able to scan and get a successful readout on this animal? Could the new owner prove they are the new owner? Is it possible that the chips could be altered, say, with a magnet passing over the implantation site? Would anyone be able to detect an alteration to the serial number since there is no visible mark indicating the chip's presence in the first place? Would that cause an erroneous readout? Could the chip be removed and transferred from a very highly bred and expensive horse to a less expensive one for purposes of passing off the latter for the former while raking in the cash? How close to the animal does the scanner have to be in order to get an accurate readout? Could you scan a group of animals in a corral at a slaughter house and, if you get a readout, know from which animal it came? There are many, many questions one needs to ask surrounding this technology as it relates to theft prevention. You need to figure out what you expect this technology to be able to do for you. Many people, including some of the microchipping companies, recommend that if you have a chip implanted you should also have a freeze mark applied as a visible means of theft deterrence. If you are interested in more information on microchipping, here are the names of companies which you can contact: Equine Electronic ID, Inc., 131 East Exchange Ave,. suite #116, Fort Worth, Texas 76106, 817-624-4597; AVID Company, 3179 Hamner Ave., Suite 5, Norco, CA 91760, 909-371-7505. BLOOD TYPING is an unalterable natural characteristic. The Arabian Horse Registry and the Jockey Club (Thoroughbreds) require all active stallions to be blood typed. Many other registries use blood typing to solve individual parentage cases. It can also be used as a strong deterrent to fraudulent substitution. As in human blood typing, parentage determination in horses has a 90% chance of excluding a false parent. Use of serum reference banks is less expensive than blood typing. Frozen serum from identified animals can be held indefinitely until the identity of the horse is questioned. In blind studies on 194 horses in which a serum sample was taken from each horse at the beginning of the study and a second sample was drawn from each horse at a later time, all samples except two were matched correctly. Serum typing procedures represent a strong deterrent against fraudulent misrepresentation of horses. Although serum reference banks seem to be an excellent means of identifying horses, difficulties have arisen because of laws that require direct veterinary supervision of blood collection in some states. Caution must be exercised in relying on nonvisual methods of identification because they do not prevent the killing of stolen horses at slaughterhouses, but blood typing does give excellent supporting evidence after identity has been extablished by a visible, applied mark. NOTE: information about blood typing was obtained from a reprint of an article by R.K. Farrell, D.V.M.; T.A. Johnson, D.Crim.; and W.G. Buckley, B.D., M.P.S., from the Journal of Forensic Science, January, 1981. Again, as with all forms of identification for theft prevention, ask questions and gather all the information you are able to as you go through the decision-making process. In my own case, I had no proper receipts for my horses, and since they are not registered animals, I had no papers. My pitiful paperwork offered poor proof that I own them (or do they own me? I wonder, sometimes). My horses are not particularly unusually colored, nor do they have any special identifying scars or marks. My decision to have my horses visibly marked was based not only on what I've just mentioned about proof of ownership (or lack of), but on my desire to have a visible, individual mark on each horse which could serve as a theft deterrent in the first place, and then aid in the identification of my horses during the recovery process, should the unthinkable happen. As each of you assess your own situation, you should be able to arrive at a decision that is comfortable for you. I wish you luck in this process. The more information you have, the better you are able to figure out what will work for you. This concludes the section in this series about methods of identification and theft prevention. Article #6 will include information on the steps to take should you find yourself victimized by a horse thief. *********************************************************************** Kathy Graves kgraves@sisnet.ssku.k12.ca.us ***********************************************************************
This article copyright 1997 Kathy Graves.
Subject Map § Introduction § Overview § Branding § Marking & Other ID § Non-visible ID
§ Recovery § Slaughter House Addresses §