Wellington, FL – February 22, 2016 – Palm Beach Equine Clinic (PBEC) will be offering microchipping services in the Annex office located on the show grounds at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center. The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) recently passed a new rule which requires all United States Hunter Jumper Association (USHJA) registered horses to be microchipped.
Photo courtesy of Palm Beach Equine Clinic
As of December 1, 2017, all hunters, jumpers and equitation horses will be required to be microchipped in order to accumulate points towards their showing record. The USEF is allowing a grace period until November 30, 2018. Following that grace period, all horses must have their microchip identification numbers recorded with the USEF in order to compete at USEF sanctioned shows for the competition year. After this period, animals which are not microchipped will be ineligible to compete in Federation licensed competitions, as stated on the USEF website.
In anticipation of this rule update, Palm Beach Equine is making it easy for all competitors at the Winter Equestrian Festival to quickly and easily have their horses’ microchipped.
Photo courtesy of Palm Beach Equine Clinic
At the Annex office on the WEF show grounds, PBEC will scan horses for any chips previously placed. If no chip is found, a sterile procedure will be performed to easily implant a chip within the nuchal ligament. Official stickers of the microchip number will be provided for your records and convenience for updating any passports or USEF forms. PBEC Veterinarians will also be available to answer questions and assist in properly updating all records for your equine athlete. It is a quick in and out procedure – the cost is $25 per placement of microchip and $5 to screen for existing chips. Cash or check only.
The tentative dates for the microchipping clinic are:
Wednesday, February 24, 2016
Wednesday, March 9, 2016
Wednesday, March 23, 2016
Each microchipping clinic session is open from 10 a.m. until 12 p.m.
The client is responsible for registering the chip with the USEF. Luckily, microchips last forever and there is no need to repeat this process.
Microchipping horses is the first step in helping owners and potential buyers move towards more reliable horse identification methods. Microchips will help record the accurate age of a horse. A horse’s age can be assessed by a veterinarian based on their teeth. After the age of 10, horses may wear their teeth differently which can be difficult to evaluate their true age. Additionally, microchips can also save horses from slaughter in the unfortunate case that they are mistakenly sent.
To learn more about the USEF rule change, please see the website link: https://www.usef.org/
Palm Beach Equine Clinic provides experience, knowledge, availability, and the very best care for the horses of Wellington. Have them be a part of your team! To find out more, please visit www.EquineClinic.com or call 561-793-1599. “Like” them on Facebook to follow along on what happens in Wellington and more, and get news from their Twitter!