The Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association (TSCRA) launched its nationwide Horse Identification Program (HIP) and web site this past January. HIP, a voluntary-enrollment service designed to help retrieve stolen horses throughout the United States, draws from the extensive animal recovery experience of the TSCRA and its rangers in Texas and Oklahoma.

Last year, TSCRA rangers recovered $5.4 million in stolen cattle, horses, and ranch equipment. HIP Director Todd McCartney said, “Pulling from their experiences, we’ve developed this program and can offer services from Texas via new technology.”

HIP is a subscriber-service database and web site, which also offers management tools for owners. For an initial per-animal fee of $30, and $10 per year after the first two years, owners can upload to the HIP database information such as their horses’ photographs and microchip data.

If a HIP-enrolled horse is reported stolen to local law enforcement and the claim of theft is determined legitimate, HIP staff members enact the four-step Stolen Horse Action Plan. Information from the horse’s file and its photos are then electronically delivered to local attending law enforcement, TSCRA barn inspectors, and rangers. All active U.S. horse-processing plants are also alerted, as well as the International Livestock Identification association in Denver