Something to get you all talking about...

[fjudge]

Does anyone have their horse "tracked"? You can get something from this data mars company that is the size of a grain of rice that goes inside a horse and if stolen, may be able to be tracked down. I think you have to know the area that the horseis in to actually "track" it, but hey...most of us would do anything to find our horse if stolen!

So...would anyone like to shed some light on this?!

Anyone know of any big race horses or dressage horses or eventers that have this?

Website is below...


http://www.datamars.com/index.cfm?menuitemid=211

 

[fjudge]

Just thought ide add...im not advertising as have NOTHING to do with this company, just interested to know if any of you know anything about it? I spoke to my vet and he had never heard of it...

 

[the watcher]

But this isn't a 'tracker', it is simply an identification microchip.

 

[Natch]

Sorry never heard of it either. Do you think its well known?

 

[zoeshiloh]

Yes, this is just a microchip, not an actual tracking device.

All of my horses are microchipped - basically you use a scanner to pick up a signal from the chip, and the chip has a unique number, which will tell you the who the horse is, who owns it, and any other information that you want to include.

It is currently compulsory for racehorses to be chipped in the UK. In Holland I am told that everything has to be microchipped, mainly in an effort to prevent competitors from entering 'ringers'. Interestingly though, Anky will not microchip her horses, as she believes that the chips wander and cause problems. Instead she has her horses DNA tested at each event they attend to prove that they are who she claims they are. I do not know whether this is true - I heard it from a chap that used to work with her.

Anyway, getting back on point, from (I think April) 2009, all foals born in the UK will have to be microchipped. About time, in my opinion.

 

[Sugarplum Furry]

Nobody yet has managed to invent a satellite tracking device small enough to put in or on a horse, sadly. They do exist but only in a large version....the sort of bulky thing that gets strapped into dolphins, badgers etc., when they are released into the wild.

Come on you boffins, there must be someone out there willing to invent something for us horse owners, you would make a fortune!!!

 

[fjudge]

Oh i see. But from what i could gather from talking to someone else is that the device can be GPRS tracked if you know what area the horse is in. So if the horse is stolen and there is a possible sighting in, lets say, ascot, then you could inform the right people and they can see if the "tracker" or "micro chip" locates in that place?