Earlier this year Standardbred Canada announced that all Standardbred horses racing in Canada must be microchipped by 2021.

TROT Magazine’s Rachel Oenema recently spoke to SC’s ID Technician Mike Pennington about the Microchipping process while Mike provided a demonstration.

Linda Bedard, Registrar and Manager of Member Services at Standardbred Canada will be working on a plan to facilitate succession of all horses being microchipped prior to 2021.

For foals, the cost of microchipping remains in the registration fee. However, for horses that are already Freeze Branded, the cost is as follows:

• 1 – 4 horses: $45/each
• 5 – 9 horses: $35/each
• 10 or more horses: $30/each

Scanners can also be purchased from Standardbred Canada head office and are offered at a discounted price for members. The Universal HomeScan Reader reads and displays the horses' microchip number and temperature. This device requires two AA batteries and will sell for $80 for members of Standardbred Canada and $95 for non-members.

The Universal WorldScan Reader Plus offers faster microchip reading detection and is equipped with USB or wireless Bluetooth connectivity, which allows for easy electronic transfer of Microchip ID to your computer.

The Universal WorldScan Reader Plus also reads the temperature of the horse and will sell for $375 for SC members and $450 for non-members.

The microchipping process has been proven to be a less traumatic experience for our equine counterparts and offers a quicker way of taking a horse's temperature while being less invasive. The microchip is also unalterable, making for a more reliable means of identification.

Standardbred Canada is also working on an app that will enable members to find out the identity of a horse with a microchip number. This app will be free to download and free to use and will be ready in the near future.

For more information on microchipping guidelines, policy and regulation, visit SC's Microchipping information page.