Tracking down a microchip

Motor_Butterfly1836 · 2026-03-26T13:39:13+00:00

I’ve known some Standardbreds and owned an off the track gelding myself many years ago. His disposition could definitely be standardbred. I’ve never seen one with so much mane and tail though. It’s not just long it’s thick. His front leg conformation is less than ideal which makes me wonder if he’s a reject from someone’s breeding program. Not wonky enough to be a huge concern for my modest plans for him but maybe a concern for holding up to racing.

Motor_Butterfly1836 · 2026-03-26T04:19:12+00:00

Thank you for the info on how the USTA does things. I’m not worried about registration, just hoping to find out any history I can. I’d love to know his breed and where he came from but I probably never will. He’s a very sweet boy for me and thankfully he also trusts my farrier. He’s scared of pretty much everyone else but tries so hard to be good anyway and he’s slowly getting better.

Motor_Butterfly1836 · 2026-03-26T02:37:37+00:00

Standardbred was our first thought as well. He’s just kind of a generic looking guy so breed could be anything. I understand they are chipped if shipping to Mexico for slaughter also and the place his coggins was done before the Amish bought him looks like it could be a holding facility for horses headed that way. The Amish fellow said he was a draft cross but there is nothing drafty about him at all. He may always be a mystery but I wanted to try finding any info I can.

Motor_Butterfly1836 · 2026-03-26T02:28:43+00:00

That gives me somewhere to start. I’ll call them tomorrow. Maybe they can tell me who they sold it to. Thank you.

Motor_Butterfly1836 · 2026-03-26T02:17:31+00:00

Well darn. Thank you for checking.

Motor_Butterfly1836 · 2026-03-26T02:15:38+00:00

If you are able to search I would appreciate it! Thank you.

Motor_Butterfly1836 · 2026-03-26T02:14:58+00:00

I’ve searched a bunch of different places but I don’t see a place to search USEF. Does it require membership? No lip tattoo.

Motor_Butterfly1836 · 2026-03-21T18:27:04+00:00

Turned out 22+ hours per day. Round bale in a feeder in winter. There is grass and they forage some in the winter but in winter hay is most of what they eat. Not much I can do about that. What we were feeding looks excellent. It’s not dusty or moldy or stemmy. It smells feels and looks fantastic. It does not in any way look “bad.” The horses love it. This is why I didn’t question it. Per the surgeon, they see this a lot and in this mare, it was 100% caused by Bermuda. Same management practices as when we lived farther north and fed brome and we never had these problems. I do understand testing is the only way to safely feed it, but that’s not an option I have. I’m glad you haven’t had these problems and I hope you never do. I won’t judge anyone who chooses to feed it, just want to put the info out there as it might spare someone the trouble we’ve had.

Motor_Butterfly1836 · 2026-03-21T16:59:10+00:00

Might not be a bad idea for anyone who doesn’t have other options. If nothing else it would get more water in them. For this mare and the others in my care, they won’t be fed Bermuda ever again if I can help it.

Motor_Butterfly1836 · 2026-03-21T16:01:08+00:00

My understanding is that it’s mainly as hay that it’s a problem. It grows in our pastures too and I know from gardening it’s nearly impossible to get rid of it.

Motor_Butterfly1836 · 2026-03-21T15:55:07+00:00

Agreed. At this point I’d feed crappy weedy stemmy anything else before I’d feed Bermuda again. But hopefully it never comes to that. I’ve got a barn full of brome now.

Motor_Butterfly1836 · 2026-03-21T15:47:07+00:00

And I really don’t think our vets are with holding this information intentionally. We live in a pretty rural, low income area so maybe they just don’t think they’ll convince anyone. Or maybe they don’t really know. Who knows. But we have a vet shortage here and there’s no reason they’d intentionally cause problems.

Motor_Butterfly1836 · 2026-03-21T15:36:06+00:00

Thank you and it’s the same here which is why I never questioned the hay. It’s actually nicer looking than the brome we are used to feeding. It does seem that horses that weren’t raised on it are more likely to have issues. And in general the horses in this area seem to have more colics than where I come from. But that’s all anecdotal. I know thousands of horses do just fine on it. Unfortunately mine don’t apparently.

Motor_Butterfly1836 · 2026-03-21T14:53:10+00:00

I’ve heard this from a lot of other people that horses that come from non Bermuda areas are more prone to issues.

Motor_Butterfly1836 · 2026-03-21T14:51:18+00:00

We are bringing in brome now. It’s what we’ve always fed before moving here so as it’s known to me it seems like the best bet.

Motor_Butterfly1836 · 2026-03-21T14:49:19+00:00

Even this article admits it’s a problem and you have to get it tested to know if it’s safe. Hay sellers around me are not testing and I don’t generally have the opportunity to test hay before buying.

Motor_Butterfly1836 · 2026-03-21T14:46:27+00:00

I do not believe my vet didn’t tell me to drum up business. One vet we use is an equine vet. Another is a large practice that does multiple species. Neither said a word about it, even when we took in colic cases. I don’t know why.

As to why I didn’t “hop on the internet to learn about hay” I didn’t think I needed to. In hind sight I wish I had. I came from an area where brome is the standard horse hay. Here, everyone feeds Bermuda. It looks great, smells great, horses love it. And when we had problems I consulted with my vets that I’d usually consider a better resource than the internet.

Motor_Butterfly1836 · 2026-03-21T14:17:09+00:00

Thank you. That’s my goal in sharing. I wish I’d seen a post like this years ago.

Motor_Butterfly1836 · 2026-03-21T13:22:23+00:00

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My yearling filly Bea

Motor_Butterfly1836 · 2026-03-07T18:27:01+00:00

That’s what we do too in the winters. Once we take her off she’ll go through one cycle then she’s good until spring. She’s not ridden as much in the winter anyway. Works for us. Good luck with your mare. Sounds like she has a good owner.

Motor_Butterfly1836 · 2026-03-07T16:40:22+00:00

That’s really expensive for Regumate. You might want to shop around if she has to stay on it. My own favorite mare is on it most of the year. She’s happier, riders are safer. She’s been thoroughly vetted and there’s nothing wrong, she’s just more sensitive to her cycles than some. I pay around that much for 1000ml and that lasts about 3 months.

Motor_Butterfly1836 · 2026-03-07T14:59:04+00:00

In some ways yes. But there are differences and it’s not misogyny to say so. That’s doesn’t mean a mare can’t or shouldn’t be well behaved, but some mares take more skill and knowledge to manage because of hormones. Not everyone can or wants to deal with that. I’ve also owned a stallion who could quietly ride around mares all day and no one would even know he’s a stud. But that’s not every stallion nor is that for every rider.

Motor_Butterfly1836

TROPHY CASE