Horse Tattoos

No, this does not refer to butt tattoos you have with the image of a horse. It actually talks about something important in the horse racing industry. This article refers to lip tattoos placed on horses that serve as a means of figuring out its identity and the name of its owner based on the registration papers held by the Jockey Club. All horses that race in the United States are required to have this tattoo. The Thoroughbred Racing Protective Bureau licenses technicians to apply these lip tattoos.

Placed on the inside of the upper lip, the tattoo is made up of letters and numbers. For Thoroughbreds, one letter followed by four or five numbers comprises the mark. The letter tells you the year of birth of your horse. Quarter Horses are marked in the opposite manner, that is, four or five numbers are followed by a letter. Standardbreds, meanwhile, may either have a letter and four numbers or two letters and three numbers. Appaloosas, on the other hand, are tattooed whether they have raced or not. The actual registration numbers are the tattoo numbers used.

Lip tattoos provide an economical and fool-proof method for positively identifying a horse. This is especially helpful when you need to ascertain the pedigree of a retired racehorse that you have purchased whose registration papers may have been lost. Tracing the registered name of the racehorse is free in the Jockey Club. You can also dig up records to trace the horse's career for a fee. This lip tattoo is also very important in spotting a stolen horse.

If you need to request for a tattoo search, you need to provide the Jockey Club with the legible characters of the tattoo, the horse's color sex and approximate age, leg and face markings or any cowlicks on the head or neck as well as other pertinent information to aid the researcher.

The downside of lip tattoos is that they can fade with age. They may also be rendered unreadable due to mottling of the horse's lip. They are not also visible unless you flip up the horse's lip. In conditions when it's difficult to read the tattoo, a digital picture may be taken and enhanced for a clearer view.

Lip tattoos were started in 1947 and since then, have provided an effective and secure means of identifying racehorses in North America.