Written by: Dr. Kevin Corley. One important aspect of equine care is the integration of a horse microchip for identification and tracking.
Our co-founder and equine veterinary surgeon, Dr. Kevin Corley, is sharing his best practices for placement of temperature horse microchip. Microchipping horses is a common practice and we hope this guide provides some useful information. Have questions or comments? Drop them in the comment form below, and Kevin will be more than happy to help!
Introduction: Why a Temperature Horse Microchip
Temperature reading horse microchips obviously give a different measurement to rectal temperature. The microchips, if correctly placed, give a reading much closer to core body temperature and are more sensitive. Measuring body temperature without contact with the animal offers several advantages.
- The number of staff required is decreased.
- The animal is not touched so the need for hand washing, disinfectant wipes etc for staff is reduced.
- Disease is not passed on by thermometers or faecal contamination on staff clothing.
What equipment do I need when microchipping horses?
Temperature reading horse microchips. Bio-Thermo® is the brand available in the US.
A Bluetooth enabled microchip scanner, that reads temperature microchips.
Makes that read these microchips include those sold under the names:
Global Pocket Reader Plus (GPR+)®, Universal Worldscan Reader Plus (UWSR+)® or AFX-110®
Microchips which measure body temperature are now commonly available in Europe, UK, Ireland, and the USA. The chips have proven to be safe, accurate and much safer for both staff and horses.
Technique
Unlike standard microchips the temperature reading horse microchips will work better if they are placed in muscle not ligament.
The microchip is measuring the temperature in the animal’s blood. A reading is more accurate if in a vascular tissue like muscle.
The microchip should be placed in the middle of the neck below the ligament nuchae.
In adult horses the site for placement should be 5-6cm below the roots of the mane. Below where the firm border of the ligament nuchae can be palpated. In foals this is 2-3cm below the roots of the mane.
Best results for reading horse microchips
Horse microchips are read side on. The horse microchip will read better if it is placed at a 45-degree angle to the skin rather than perpendicular. In adults the microchip should be placed to the full depth of the administering needle which contains the microchip. In foals, half the depth of the needle (1-2cm) is sufficient. The chip should not be subcuticular.
The goal is to the place it into either of the Semispinalis or Obliquus capitis caudalis muscles (shown on the diagram as a. and b.
The temperature reading microchip should be placed in either muscle a. (M. Obliquus capitis caudalis) or in muscle b. (M. Semispinalis) in the upper third of either muscle
Troubleshooting
Chip migration is not reported as an issue with the temperature reading microchips. Horse microchips are coated in BioBond® coating which helps the microchip embed into local tissue. The coating causes mild local inflammation to do this, which fades after 2-7 days. It is important to be aware of this. The local inflammation can cause the chip to read a little high for the first few days. After that period, it is precise.
If a horse microchip is placed too shallow it will not read body temperature properly. If the microchip is at a 90-degree angle to the skin, the scanner can have difficulty. It will struggle to pick up the identity number. It can also struggle to read the temperature.
Microchip Scanners
Makes that read these microchips include those sold under the names: Global Pocket Reader Plus (GPR+)®. Another is Universal Worldscan Reader Plus (UWSR+)®. There is also AFX-110® and others.
The GPR+ is available here
Scanner quality is important. Low quality scanners can have shorter ranges. They must be held closer to the skin to detect the temperature and microchip number. To connect to the EquiTrace App scanners must be Bluetooth enabled.
Interpretation of Results
The body temperature measured by horse microchips is not the same as rectal temperatures. You do have to get used to interpreting a different range of numbers. We have now experienced over 300,000 body temperatures measured with temperature chips. It is clear that ‘normal’ varies for each individual animal.
Measuring a temperature with a microchip is contactless and safe. This allows more frequent temperature monitoring. Most farms using the microchips check temperatures at least twice a day if not three times.
The EquiTrace App plots these readings onto individual temperature graphs. This allows a trend and fever ‘spikes’ to be very quickly identified. Once an abnormality is detected the animal can be isolated and fully examined.
This more frequent temperature monitoring detects disease. It is also used to detect impending foaling and ovulation. It helps find heat stress in competition. Furthermore, it assesses the thermal comfort of animals in very cold environments, e.g., commercial farms in Canada.
Farms report that animals developing disease have demonstrated a change in their temperature graph. This change occurs two days before any other clinical signs. These changes were within the ‘normal range’ and without the EquiTrace App would not have been identified as abnormal. With the App foals can be isolated early preventing disease spread.
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