FAQ - Frequently asked questions

• How is the horse microchip implanted?
• Can the AVID EquineChip^TM be read by other scanners?
• Does the microchip 'wear out' or stop working?
• Can the microchip be 'erased' with a magnet or powerful electricity?
• Can the chip be programmed to contain special information?
• How can the microchip help recover my horse?
• Does the microchip enable my horse to be located using GPS tracking equipment or satellite?
• Do AVID scanners read all microchips?
• Why should I microchip my horse?
• My horse is chipped with another brand of chip. It is not an AVID® chip. Can I still enroll in HORSEtrac^TM and get a HORSEcard^TM?
• Where is the chip implanted? Can it be removed?
• Does the chip cause pain when injected? Will it interfere with my horse's performance?
• At what age can my horse be microchipped with the AVID EquineChip^TM?
• How long does the chip last? Does it wear out?
• Can I find the chip by feeling for it with my fingers?
• Can my horse feel anything when he is being scanned?
• Can the microchip move around or 'migrate' after it is injected?
• The chip is invisible. How can it benefit my horse?
• Are there scanners 'out there' so that the chips in horses can be detected?
• How many types of chips and scanners are used in horses?
• How can the microchip help prevent my horse from being stolen?
• If my horse is stolen or missing, how can the chip help me get him back?
• What about an emergency, a fire, flood, storm, etc.?
• How is the chip traced back to me? Does AVID have a database for recovery of missing horses?
• How much does it cost to register my horse in HORSEtrac^TM?
• Is the AVID EquineChip^TM the same chip used in production or food animals?
• Will USDA slaughter facilities be able to detect and read the AVID EquineChip?
• Will the AVID EquineChip^TM be accepted in the new government National Animal ID System for horses?

1. Locate the injection site On the left side, halfway between the poll and withers, locate the nuchal ligament, just below the mane.
2. Prepare the site for aseptic injection
3. Standard Injection Inject the microchip directly into the prepared site, perpendicular to the neck. (You can also inject on an angle for younger horses.) Slowly depress the syringe plunger until it stops. Apply pressure on the injection site as the needle is withdrawn.
4. Scan the horse
5. Record the microchip number
6. Enroll in HORSEtracTM

Yes. The AVID EquineChip^TM can be read by most scanners worldwide.

No. The chip is guaranteed for the life of the horse.

No.

No.

When the chip is scanned by law enforcement officials, disaster workers or veterinarians, a phone call goes into HORSEtrac^TM, the 24 hour disaster and recovery network for horses. Your registered owner information is immediately available.

No. The technology to incorporate GPS into a tiny injectable chip is not currently available.

AVID makes a variety of scanners to suit all situations around the world. Give us a call and we will help you choose the scanner you need.

The tiny chip provides a permanent "inside" identification number for your horse. The number is unique in the world, and it cannot be altered. A microchip is POSITIVE ID for your horse. It leaves no doubt. Horse owners use it for many different reasons, such as: Proof of ownership, theft protection and recovery, disaster recovery, health certificates, medical records, farm management, event entries, registry ID, sales documents, and protection from slaughter.

Now you can provide your horse with a lifetime microchip number for a minimal cost. Instead of asking "Why microchip?" ... you can now say "Why not!"

Yes, of course. HORSEtrac^TM is available to any one who has a microchipped horse, regardless of the type of chip. If you are a member of HORSEtrac, you can order a HORSEcard.

The chip goes into the nuchal ligament just below the mane about half way between the poll and withers on the left side. It cannot be removed without general anesthesia and surgery.

Microchipping is a simple injection. It only takes seconds. Most horses don't even flinch, and their performance is not compromised at all.

Any age, from birth on.

The chip is guaranteed for the lifetime of your horse. It will not wear out or fade.

No, you cannot feel an implanted microchip; nor can your horse.

The horse feels nothing at all when he is being 'scanned.'

No. Once properly installed, the chip will not migrate or move. It will be there when you need it.

(A study published in the Journal of The American Veterinary Medical Association (2003 223:1316-1319) revealed that microchips implanted in the nuchal ligament did not migrate.)

Microchips provide the most reliable form of instant permanent ID. Rather than being on the outside of the horse, removable or alterable, the chip is safe and secure in the nuchal ligament. If your horse also has a brand, the chip and the brand can work together for double protection.

The AVID EquineChip^TM is always there; able to be checked and verified immediately. When the chip number is recorded on documents, it immediately confirms - with the pass of a scanner - that the horse on the paperwork is the correct animal. Microchip numbers can be used as proof-positive when transporting, buying, selling, breeding, insuring, and protecting from disease.

A chip number registered in HORSEtrac^TM can be life-saving in cases of theft, slaughter or natural disaster.

Yes. Brand inspectors, law enforcement, animal control officers, disaster workers, veterinarians, rescues, slaughter facilities and many sale barns have scanners. With the beginning of the new National Animal ID System, scanners will be even more widespread. Important: A scanner can only do its job if your horse is microchipped.

You may hear of different brand names of chips and/or scanners. However, all microchip systems operate by sending and receiving radio wave signals. Microchips used in horses in the United States operate at the radio frequency of 125 kHz. Therefore, scanners operating at the matching 125 kHz frequency can read the chips, no matter who the manufacturer is. The system is very cross compatible.

Note: If you are considering microchipping your horse, make sure that the chip you choose operates at 125 kHz, thus insuring that it can be read by all of the United States scanners. Click here for more information about compatibility.

Your horse will have a unique, permanent and registered number. To law enforcement, it is the equivalent of a 'Vehicle Identification Number' for your horse. And it provides you with proof that it is YOUR horse. Thieves know how microchips work. They know what it means.

Post HORSEtrac^TM signs and decals on trailers, barns and fences as deterrents. Everyone will know that your horses are microchipped.

When a microchipped horse is stolen, report it immediately to law enforcement and make sure they have the chip number. Contact HORSEtrac^TM and place your horse on the Hot List. Send a digital picture of your horse to HORSEtracUSA.com.

Slaughter facilities will be contacted and the chip number and horse description printed on Hot Sheets. Finally AVID affiliates, such as Stolen Horse International, will be 'in the loop' and looking for your horse.

AVID works with national disaster preparedness groups across America. These groups are equipped with scanners. In times of natural disaster or emergency, scanning for microchips is the ideal and preferred method of locating owners of recovered horses.

When a microchip is found in a horse, he is a phone call away from being reunited with his owner. Carry your HORSEcard^TM, too, for instant backup if you must 'claim' your horse after a disaster. Check out The HORSEcard^TM on the HORSEtrac page.

Owners of microchipped horses are contacted immediately when chips are traced through the HORSEtrac^TM database. Non-chipped horses typically take much longer, or in many cases, never get returned to their owners.

As the largest supplier of microchips for companion animals in the United States, AVID originated the concept of "recovery" by developing the global PETtrac recovery network over 10 years ago. HORSEtrac^TM is part of this same network.

Once the chip is actually implanted, the chip number and all owner information should be registered in the HORSEtrac^TM database. Information is protected and private, but always there 24 hours a day, should anything happen to your horse.

Operators are standing by to take calls from law enforcement agencies and recovery teams who locate missing or stolen horses. If your horse scans 'positive' for a microchip, everyone knows who to call. The phone number for the HORSEtrac^TM network is printed on the AVID scanner.

There is a one time, lifetime fee of $15.00. A HORSEtrac^TM registration includes all important owner information, an alternate contact, and information about the horse, including his chip number. The owner will receive a nice certificate. Digital HORSEcard is optional.

No. While some of the new cattle ear tags do contain a microchip, it is a different type of chip from the injectable ones used in horses in the United States. Additionally the food animal chip is 15 digits long. The EquineChip is ten digits long.

Yes. Absolutely. AVID has made sure that these facilities all have MultiScan readers.

The AVID EquineChip is the type of chip already accepted in the United States to identify horses, and it can be read by the scanners in use.

The American Horse Council and the Equine Species Working Group have recommended to the USDA, among other things, that "Microchips are a cost efficient, readily available equine identification method already in use in equines. Exisiting microchip technologies should be incorporated into the NAIS for equines."

In addition to complying with proposed regulations, and just as important, the AVID EquineChip serves many other purposes throughout the life of your horse. The HORSEtrac^TM recovery network protects your privacy and offers security for you and your horse.