Ride a horse, go to jail! Seriously, did you know that all horses in the City of Los Angeles are required to be licensed by law? Initially, I thought this was just another way for the city to extort more money out of me with another license or permit fee.
The municipal code states that all horses, ponies, burros, mules, donkeys and other equines 12 months or older must pay the $14 license fee. Boarding stable owners are required to send a list of their boarders to the Department of Animal Services each year in order to keep their boarding permits current.
When ETI Corral 54 asked me to use Trails End Ranch for a community licensing and microchipping clinic on July 23, I asked its President Mary Kaufman why they were going to such lengths to get horses licensed.
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Kaufman told me, “The reason it’s so important to license horses is it’s the only way that the city has to get an accurate census and count the number of horses that live in Los Angeles.” She went on to explain that the fees collected from equine licenses support city services such as maintaining our bridle trails and animal control services for equines.
“These numbers play a huge role when the City Council makes decisions that affect horses and horsekeeping. You figure, the more horses there are, the more of a voice we have downtown.”
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The Los Angeles Horse Council has made its horse census and licensing drive such a major priority that it is listed on its home page under its main objectives.
In addition to the licenses, the clinic is also offering microchipping at the very low cost of $9 per pet. The microchips contain the pet's animal license information, and owner's contact information. In the event of an evacuation due to fire, the microchip can give you peace of mind that your horse will make it safely back to it's barn when the smoke clears.
So, next month, I plan on signing up for the clinic. For only $23, I can get my horse microchipped and licensed all at the same time, all at one place. I can even get my dog microchipped for $9, too! Dog licenses range from $20 to $335 depending on whether or not they are unaltered or not.
The City of Los Angeles Department of Animal Services website has a great online form for ordering up your annual horse license. Or you can just come to the clinic on July 23rd. For more information, visit the Chatsworth Patch .
