freezemark or microchip?

[popsicle]

Have just been catching up and and reading about the dodgy horse thieves about. (We have a warning at our yard which reads similarly) It's making me think about freezemarking or microchipping? Which do you guys think is the best deterrent?

Also if they are freezemarked under the saddle area are they likely to have any lasting discomfort. Please let me know what you all think and any experiences you have.

[Blonde Donkey]

savvy is having both done. the freeze marl as a visual deterrant and the microchip because i would feel safer with her having it done if she goes walkabouts without me. bracken is freezemarked and we have never had any problems and does give us piece of mind knowing that she is marked and will be recognised

[popsicle]

Thanks savvy. Think I posted this on the wrong bit. Hope its Ok or perhaps one of the Mods can move it for me

[Maes Seren]

Gem has been microchipped. My only worry is those stories about the chips getting lost.

With Gem being grey though, i cant have her freezemarked.

[kateflashy]

flash has both all the rest are chipped we used to have them hoof branded as well

[salexis]

moo is chipped but not freezemarked.

We have had the warning posted on our livery yard notice boards as well.

Next to our arena is a public footpath. These two women were walking past and stopped and were asking after moomin, what she did etc. They seemed friendly enough, but after all these warnings I am now getting really paranoid. They were horsey as she was asking what i thought of the pessoa (i was lunging Moo in one at the time), and she was saying she couldn't believe she was a trotter as Moo was cantering quite nicely at that point.

If there were a couple of people looking less like horse theives it was these two middle aged, middle class types, but these days.... aaaarggghhhhhh.

god there is nothing worse than worrying and thinking what if. Its not like you can sit guard over the field 24hrs! Just have to get over it I guess and hope for the best.

[Blonde Donkey]

May 29, 2008 20:14:00 GMT salexis said:

god there is nothing worse than worrying and thinking what if. Its not like you can sit guard over the field 24hrs! Just have to get over it I guess and hope for the best.

that's all i've been doing i wish i could stay down the field but mum won't let me

[popsicle]

Not sure how microchipping helps as a would be thief cannot see this. Can anyone enlighten me? Surely this wouldn't stop them getting taken from the field???

[Blonde Donkey]

no but if there was something suspicous then the horse could be scanned and find out if the horse was theirs or not

[popsicle]

Yeah but what if the person buying the horse from the thief just wanted a good cheap horse and wasn't bothered where it came from. Aagghh I'm getting paranoid and am thinking of getting Lolly and Poppy ALL OVER TATOOS and changing them into ZEBRA'S

[haffyfan]

Mine are freeze marked because it's visual (well at least in summer), it is also widely known and means more to the man in the street than bay gelding 15hh with 2 socks does!

Both are under saddle and caused no problems. You don't ride for a few days then use a numnah until it grows back white. Grey horses can be done, they leave irons on longer till it goes bold and only mark on the shoulderto prevent rubbinbg.

Re Microchipping as said they can go walkies and are the companies actually telling me the likes of Holmfirth sales will have and use a scanner to check for stolen nags! I think not!!!!!!

[Blonde Donkey]

yes it is very worrying but somewhere down the line they will be checked and you will get them back. unfortunatley there are people like that out there but we have to deal with it

[haffyfan]

Sorry btw hadn't realised Jack had already moved this one...it will be very dizzy

[popsicle]

Thanks everyone. Think I will deffo get them freezemarked ASAP

[danielsmom]

I had my old mare freeze marked, you have to keep the mark clipped but even if the area isnt clipped you can still see it because the hairs are white.

Daniel has a microchip, he had to as all andalucian are chipped, but he also has a branding mark on his rump and he is freeze marked under his mane. I am even thinking about putting a clamp on his hoofs (kidding on that one)

[zara]

Hi AJ was chipped when I bought him and I've since had him frezemarked with a "micromark". This is a horseshoe shaped freezemark on his left shoulder which alerts anyone to the fact that he's chipped. I feel happier having something visible. I would post a pic but getting paranoid about that now Z

[abi]

maes- cant you get black frezemarks for grey horses? sure i read that somewhere.

we have a microchip, but ive never been able to feel it so its morepeace of mind, for if she manages to leap out her field and gallop to the next county!

but, a friend's horse had a lump on the inside of his thigh and this just popped out in the field, the vet said his mincrochip could have moved from his neck to leg, and popped out his leg! gross!
x

[fimacg]

both mine are freezemarked - although Chompy's mark is so faint you can barley see it and its only clear when clipped in winter of he is having a bath, basically because he is white it is a bald mark, i.e. no hair grows back, on greys this looks black because the sking underneath is black but on piebalds the skin is pink so doesn't show so well.

Dexter is marked on one of his brown bits near his quarters on the off side (only brown place big enough for it to fit) he also carries the loss of use mark (a letter L in a circle) underneath his freezemark number. Which tells anyone you knows anything about horses that its not worth nicking him.

[Maes Seren]

May 30, 2008 6:46:37 GMT abi said:

maes- cant you get black frezemarks for grey horses? sure i read that somewhere.

Yeah theyre called baldmarks or something but i think its awful to kill off the hair completely.

[trojanwarrior]

I had Warrior freezemarked because it's a visual deterrent. Its not on show when he's rugged, but I've marked his rug with it & put a tag on the rug too.

I had him done at the beginning of December & the hair has never grown back, just a couple of tufts of white at the edges . Think the operator must have left them on too long & killed it completely as I would have thought it would have hair on it by now.

[racaille]

This is very interesting and I suspect in other circumstances I would go for the freezemark (except that Paco is white grey and I don't like the idea of a bald mark) and Racaille, although iron grey now, will get whiter with time ...
I don't understand why Britain isn't part of the EU system re horse passports. (I know I've said this before, sorry) Here we have to chip all equines and their details are registered with the national stud, who issues their papers (passport). There is still an amnesty for late appliers but soon a large fine will be applicable. You will not be able to buy or sell a horse without papers and the only way you could duck under the law is never to compete, never to call a vet, never to transport etc - ie a horse would have to be completely 'hidden'. This system has other advantages, such as preventing falsification of the horse's age. Once it's registered, it's written in stone (well, on the central computer).
All our horses are chipped and we have had no problems of any kind. All the vets carry handheld scanners and even at the Chevauchee, when there are 200-odd horses competing, every horse is scanned as part of the vetting each day. It only takes a second.

[chiefsmyboy]

I have Chief freeze-marked under his saddle area and have never had problems with it whilst riding him. My previous horse (God rest his soul) was fleabitten grey and I had him freeze-marked on his shoulder. Apparently it does burn the skin to mark but I was told it was no less painful than those horses who were brown, bay, black, etc. The skin healed quickly and came back black and in all the years I owned him (17) it never caused him any problems. Even in the showing ring we never got marked down because of it. I don't know what I'd do, apart from become an emotional wreck, if my boys were stolen so I would definately have them freeze-marked.

[Maes Seren]

I think the EU way is fab, it also doesnt allow any old horses to breed.

It would certainly make stealing much more difficult