EQUESTFILE: A Data Entry Solution Designed for the Modern-Day Equestrian
“In 2015, I was trying to figure out when one of my horses had his Coggins and thought to myself with so much technology available, there ought to be a better way to keep track of my horses’ healthcare records,” said Ellen Eakin, Founder and President of EquestFile. After that moment, she became obsessed with finding a solution, which led to researching new ways to make it easy for equestrians to enter, track, and record information about their horses.
Barn management was one of the first uses of technology to emerge for the equine world given how detail-oriented and data intensive it is. Luckily Eakin found the right developers and has worked on designing the platform to be easy to use and navigate.
Her Heart Belongs to Horses
Eakin began riding at a young age with her heart in the hunter/jumper world through high school. After 33-years out of the saddle to make time for an education, family and career, Eakin began to ride again and now operates a sport horse-breeding farm in north Texas. She has used her studies from receiving a Master of Business Administration from the University of Texas in Austin and undergraduate degree to help her develop a comprehensive business plan and roadmap for EquestFile.
“The user experience (UX) and user interface (UI) on both the app and desktop are what sets us apart – it is very easy to navigate and both the app and desktop offer the same features.”
Easy to navigate Home screen of the EquestFile app
Custom Form and Functionality
The EquestFile is a digital tool designed to customize your daily tasks, feed information and inventory, training requirements and status, medical history and more. The dashboard is comprehensive but not overwhelming and includes a summary view of daily tasks, quick links, and more. There is a simple navigation bar at the top with drop down menus for horses, calendar and communities. You also can easily create and update user profiles for yourself and employees at your barn. The calendar feature also synchs with the calendar on your phone, avoiding double-entries. Under horses, each horse has a complete profile including breeding history, USEF #, microchip # and a comments/notes section. The community section is ideal to keep contacts and records for all your service vendors including farriers and veterinarians. “The information needs to be easy to access and share, given how many people touch our horses lives on a daily basis,” said Eakin.
Try Before You Buy
EquestFile offers a 14-day free trial period allowing users the ability to test drive and experience the user interface and the types of information they will have access to recording and storing. “Top features for the barns that are currently using EquestFile depend on different needs, some use it for managing all their healthcare needs and others for task management,” said Eakin. For those running 501(c)(3) barns such as equine rescues or therapy organizations, there are free subscriptions provided for those that qualify.
EquestFile allows you to synch data on multiple devices.
“The platform is designed for equestrians in English-speaking countries, regardless of discipline,” said Eakin. After a beta testing period in March, the official launch was on April 5th and to date more than 100 barns have signed up to try the platform. “The enhancements will be continuous and we are looking to building out different modules from invoicing, to competition to breeding,” Eakin added.
Future of Equine Tech
“EquestFile is a timesaver, giving you all your horse information in one location,” said Eakin. She foresees that everyone will be using horse apps and software in the next 5 years with adoption levels to increase rapidly each year.
Website: http://equestfile.com/
Facebook: @equestfile
Instagram: @EquestFile