Tattoos - Thoroughbred, Appaloosa, Quarter Horses, Arabians & Standardbreds Any of these racing breeds can have a lip tattoo if they were raced. Standardbreds may have a freezebrand instead. ========== Pat Calloway ====== ============================================================ Thoroughbred Tattoos always start with the year of birth's letter designation (each year is assigned a letter) followed by the year of birth (99 for example) followed by the last five digits of their Jockey Club registration number. Here are the letters: X 1968 Y 1969 Z 1970 A 1971 B 1972 C 1973 D 1974 E 1975 F 1976 G 1977 H 1978 I 1979 J 1980 K 1981 L 1982 M 1983 N 1984 O 1985 P 1986 Q 1987 R 1988 S 1989 T 1990 U 1991 V 1992 W 1993 X 1994 Y 1995 Z 1996 A 1997 B 1998 C 1999 D 2000 E 2001 F 2002 G 2003 So a horse born in 1997 who has been tattoed (not all TBs are tattooed - generally just those that go to the track, train and have been entered in a race - but this varies by racing jurisdiction) would possibly have the tattoo number A12345 (A = alpha designation for horses born in 1997; 97 = actual year of birth; 12345 = horse's registration #). Sometimes these can be hard to read depending on the age of the horse (like human tattos, they fade with age) and how good the tattoo person was. To find out more about a horse via his/her tattoo, call the Jockey Club at 1-800-333-1778 or check their website at http://www.equineonline.com or http://www.jockeyclub.com. They generally charge a fee for any research. Also see: http://www.trpb.com/tatobrnd.htm ============================================================ Date: Tue, 07 Sep 1999 08:27:45 -0400 From: "Ria Thress" Subject: Re: EQ-ResQ: TB & SB Tattoos Pat, I spoke to the Vet about the tattoos and he pretty much told me everything we already knew. There is one letter and five numbers on the tattoo. The tattoo number comes from the year of birth and the rest of the numbers on the Jockey Club papers for example: a tattoo of U08163 will match up to 9108163 on the papers. That is pretty much it. It works exactly like our social security system, no two horses have the same numbers. As far as tattoos getting worn off and re-done, I have never seen it. The horse is done with racing before the tattoo is worn off. Maybe the people looking at the tattoo aren't folding the lip up enough to get a good look at it. You have to really fold it up there tight to see it good making the skin whiter and the tat show up. Most older race horses are used to this and won't kill you when you do it. Of course if your holding on too tight they may take you with them when they rear up! *g* Hope that helps clear things up. Ria ============================================================ Appaloosa Tattoos Appaloosas if tattooed whether racing or not would have their registration number tattooed in the upper lip of the horse. http://www.appaloosa.com/pdfs/EXPLAIN.pdf for an explanation of some of the registration number prefixes. http://www.appaloosa.com (208) 882-5578 ============================================================ Quarterhorses Racing Quarterhorses also have a number tattoed in the upper lip. (806) 376-4811 and the website is at: http://www.aqha.org/ ============================================================ Standardbreds are freeze branded and/or tattooed in the upper lip. The numbers and letters are very similar to Thoroughbred sequences. http://web.vet.cornell.edu/public/cuerp/sbtattoo.htm US Trotting Association: http://www.ustrotting.com/ (614) 224-2291 ============================================================ Arabians Racing Arabians are tattooed by the same technicians that tattoo Thoroughbreds. An "A" will start their registration number. http://www.trpb.com/tatobrnd.htm