Stolen Horse International, Inc. 
PO Box 1341
Shelby, NC 28151
(704) 484-2165

stolenhorse@netposse.com  

Lip Tattoo Examples

How do I research my lip tattoo? Click here

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.

We suggest that a professional do your tattoo, especially if you know nothing about the process.  This is not our only means of identification.  However, should you decide to do it yourself, tattooing kits are available through vet supply catalogs and can either be applied by a veterinarian or by the horse owner.


Preparation for tattoo application. 

Lip tattooing is another form of "branding" a horse and involves having a tattoo made of letters and numbers put on the inside of the upper lip. The downside regarding lip tattoos are that they are not visible without flipping the lip up, they can fade with age and many times they are not readable due to mottling on the horses lip.


Our first tattoo was applied to Skeeter.

Thoroughbreds, Quarterhorses, Appaloosas,  and Standardbreds, who have raced will have tattoos that definitively establish their ages with the exception that Standardbreds also allow freezebranding.. In thoroughbreds, the letter A means a birth year of 1997 and the letter B would 1998, C 1999.  When you finish the alphabet you go back to A . 


Idaho's tattoo.


TRPB Tattoo - more info
Through the use of a distinctive parallel cluster lip-tattoo die brand designed by the TRPB and registered as a Certification Mark in the United States and Canada, the TRPB has, since 1947, provided the Thoroughbred industry with the single most effective, secure, practical and economical method of horse identification available today. The utility of this lip-tattoo identification system for racing purposes is demonstrated daily by attentive identifiers conscientiously following established guidelines and procedures in varied racing situations at Thoroughbred racetracks throughout the United States and Canada.
(from TRPB website)

Stolen Horse International, Inc. would like to thank the TPPB , with a special thanks to Jim and Rex, for their assistance in helping us obtain tattoo's  for our demonstration horses.

We  hope this helps you make you decision to tattoo, or not to tattoo.  

Debi and Harold Metcalfe

Check out Horse Identification Listings for identification venders, branding info and more.

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