What Horses Have A Lip Tattoo?

Thoroughbred horses are required by most state racing commission rules to be lip tattooed in order to participate in an official Thoroughbred race. The tattoo serves as an additional means of identification for the Thoroughbred while racing.

What is a tatooed horse?

A digital tattoo indicates that a Thoroughbred Racing Protective Bureau (TRPB) technician has authenticated the identity of a horse by virtue of an in-person inspection that includes scanning the Thoroughbred’s microchip, comparing markings and photos from The Jockey Club database and uploading updated digital

Do lip tattoos hurt horses?

In a painless procedure, tattoos of India ink are stamped on the inside of a horse’s upper lip for identification purposes. Tattooing is just one of many safeguards used to prevent fraudulent substitutions in horse races, known as ringers.

How do you read a horse tattoo?

Reading Tattoos
A thoroughbred tattoo has one letter, which indicates the year of birth, followed by four or five numbers, with horses over 25 years of age having only four. Horses foaled outside North America will also have an asterisk (*) at the beginning of the tattoo.

What is the most common location for a tattoo on a horse?

The tattoo may be placed in sev- eral areas, but the upper lip is the most common site. However, a horse owner can tattoo his or her horse in other areas with different letters and numbers.

Do they still tattoo horses lips?

All racehorses are required to have a lip tattoo for identification purposes prior to racing. Any of the racing breeds can have a lip tattoo if they were raced. This tattoo positively identifies the horse and its owner through the horse’s registration papers.

Do they still tattoo Thoroughbreds?

The TRPB currently has 58 Technicians operating throughout Canada and the United States who are fully trained in Digital Tattooing and are prepared to scan, photograph, and certify your Thoroughbred for official identification purposes.

How do horses get lip tattoos?

Lip tattoos are applied by technicians licensed through the Thoroughbred Racing Protective Bureau, and more information about the tattoos and how they came to be used can be found here. They also offer a free service to research your horse’s tattoo to find the registered name.

How long will lip tattoos last?

Depending on the treatment and lifestyle factors, lip tattooing can last anywhere from 1-3 years. “The pigment will fade naturally and lighten over this time”, says Sian, who recommends a colour boost procedure every 6-12 months.

Why you shouldn’t get a lip tattoo?

Inner-lip tattoos are most susceptible because of moisture and bacteria inside the mouth. Scarring. When a lip tattoo doesn’t heal properly, it may scar. Allergic reactions and infections post-tattooing can also increase your risk for developing scar tissue at the site.

What is the rarest marking for a horse?

While it’s relatively common in dogs and cows, brindle is by far the rarest coat color in horses. Brindle stripes can show up on any base color in the form of light or dark hairs. Because this pattern is a result of two embryos fusing, the hairs making up the stripes can be a different texture to other body hairs.

Do Quarter Horses get lip tattoos?

Lip tattooing is found on Thoroughbreds, Standardbreds, Appaloosas, Arabians and Quarter Horses, because these breeds also race.

What does 15 hands on a horse mean?

There is a proper way to figure and write out the measurement of a horse. Example: If a horse measures 60 inches you would divide that number by 4 (since a ‘hand’ is 4 inches) and get 15, which means the horse is 15 hands tall.

How do you read a Quarter Horse lip tattoo?

Some Thoroughbred tattoos have four numbers, which indicates the horse is older than 25. Other breeds also tattoo racehorses on their upper lips. A Quarter Horse tattoo consists of four or five numbers followed by a letter, and a Standardbred tattoo consists of one letter followed by four numbers.

What do the three horses tattoo mean?

Although there is little known about the artist of the original piece, which is thought to be dated back to the 18th century, the image clearly shows 3 horses in motion being overcome by a stormy sea where there is an underlying sense of strength, power and fear.

What does a black horse tattoo mean?

Horse tattoos symbolize freedom and strength, characteristic traits of a horse. Other horse tattoo meanings are bravery, grace, beauty, and companionship. Other horse tattoos such as a black horse represent death and a white horse represents nobility.

Do lip tattoos wear off?

It’s also worth noting that lip tattoos, both inside and outside of the mouth, tend to fade more quickly than other types of tattoo. Inner lip tattoos are most likely to fade away because of the way the inner lip area heals. For many people, an inner lip tattoo will only last for a few years.

What animals get lip tattoos?

This method of identification has been so successful that the Jockey Club’s website offers to trace a horse’s history by using the lip tattoo code. Dogs, rats, turkeys, chinchillas, rabbits, foxes, fish, monkeys and alligators are but a few of the animals that have been tattooed for the sake of identification.

Why do horses lift their front lip?

Horses, as well as cats, rhinos and hedgehogs have this as a response to help their sense of smell. Raising their upper lip increases the flow of air through their nostrils which widens the scent openings behind their teeth on the upper palette.

Do all racehorses have lip tattoos?

Thoroughbred horses are required by most state racing commission rules to be lip tattooed in order to participate in an official Thoroughbred race. The tattoo serves as an additional means of identification for the Thoroughbred while racing.

How do you tell if a horse is a Thoroughbred?

Good-quality Thoroughbreds have a well-chiseled head on a long neck, high withers, a deep chest, a short back, good depth of hindquarters, a lean body, and long legs. Thoroughbreds are classified among the “hot-blooded” breeds, which are animals bred for agility and speed and are generally considered spirited and bold.