Microchipping: High-Tech Horses

Thehorse.com - Full Article

by: Erin Ryder
September 03 2010, Article # 16903

We interact with microchips every day--in our computers, telephones, and even our kitchen appliances. But the thought of putting a microchip into a horse can make us uncomfortable. Fear not--veterinarians say microchipping horses is a quick and simple procedure that provides safe, permanent identification.

Kevin Owen, DVM, owner of Electronic ID Inc. (the U.S. ditributor for Destron-Fearing/Digital Angel chips), has been involved in microchipping horses since 1986. He estimates Destron-Fearing has sold more than 800,000 chips for equine use worldwide. The company offers chips with a patented BioBond cap that allows connective tissue fibers to infiltrate to anchor the chip in place.

"A microchip is a transponder encapsulated in a biocompatible glass," Owen explains. The chips themselves are passive--they don't actually do anything.

"The chip has a predescribed number issued by the ISO, which guarantees uniqueness, etched into it," Owen says...

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