Jennifer Corley, CEO of EquiTrace qualified as a specialist equine surgeon at the Royal Veterinary College in London. Jennifer then worked as a surgeon at a racing practice in Ireland. When a car crash ended her veterinary career, Jennifer was determined to continue to use her knowledge to improve horse’s heath. Her first company Veterinary Advances made apps for veterinarians. Having the opportunity to step back from practice she could see that both on the ground and in research poor record keeping and access to data was a major problem for horse health. 75% of farms still use pen and paper records, these are often inaccurate, not up-to-date or not available when veterinarians need them. Horses travel and it’s difficult to keep data private and keep records with the horse as they travel. By creating an app based health record, Jennifer’s team could address some of the biggest problems facing the horse world today. The Tech Equestrian had a chance to catch up with Jennifer in Ireland courtesy of Zoom to find out more about this revolutionary innovation.

“EquiTrace was founded in 2019 and we commercially launched at AAEP in 2021,” shared Jennifer. Over the course of a year, EquiTrace now has 24,700 horses being monitored, a testament to the success and support of the app. “From top thoroughbred trainers like Mr DK Weld to important warmblood breeders like Paul Schockemöhle we have had an amazing response.”

“Our vision is to make it easy for the people on the ground to record health information and comply with medication regulations.” stated Jennifer. “We are delighted to be able to work with Merck Animal Health. EquiTrace works with any standard microchip, but we are the only company with software to record temperatures from the new Merck Animal Health Bio-Thermo® microchips. These revolutionary microchips can measure body temperature by simply scanning the horse. With no physical contact, they are much safer for everyone, including the horse. The temperature measured has also been shown to be closer to core body temperature providing a more accurate reading than standard rectal temperature measurements. The EquiTrace temperature graphs make it very easy to spot when an animal is becoming unwell.

Core Features Defined
The core features of EquiTrace all work together to provide a complete and compliant picture of your horse’s health including: identity, location (GPS), medical records and communications. These features are powerful and used by different customers in different ways. Large sales facilities like Fasig Tipton or Goffs want to ensure the right animal is in the right place at the right time. Trainers want accurate treatment records and reminders of vaccination times or suggested withdrawal times. Studs love the mare management records. Clients appreciate how much paperwork is eliminated and time saved.

1) Identity - Secure Medical Records
“Using the microchip for identity is an important feature although you can use most of the features of the app by manual entry of the name if you prefer. Scanning the microchip eliminates any identity errors. It also means owners or trainers who are not on site can be see exactly where a horse is and when it is checked. When staff scan an animal, they can see exactly what it needs and get reminders through notifications about treatments, vaccines or other procedures” explained Jennifer. “It’s important with busy stables, our solution helps eliminate human error. The right medicine will always be given to the right horse and correctly recorded. The data is not held on the microchip, it is immediately encrypted after entry on the phone and securely held in the cloud. With four levels of access, the subscription holder can completely control who can only enter data, who can set treatments and who can access all areas. If the animal is sold the data does not go with it, the subscription holder has complete control.”

2) Location
Traceability is important – if you have a Bio-Thermo® chip, the combination of this with GPS is fantastic for tracing animals in the event of a disease outbreak. Farms can identify a fever cluster and rapidly isolate a group if necessary. As these Bio-Thermo® chips are adopted you can see how useful they would be to check animals are healthy as they arrive at shows or competitions.

Even just having the GPS recording alone if an animal develops a disease like Herpes or Influenza, veterinarians can immediately trace all the horses, know where they were located and who might have been in contact.

3) Records Management and Communication
The app allows for complete medical record access which in turn makes it easy to communicate confidentially and securely to the people you have assigned to your horse, so they stay ‘in the know.’ “You have the choice – you get to decide who has access to your data. If you want to give your vet access, you can do that. Say goodbye to barn whiteboards – your information is now completely confidential but can be accessible too.”

“One of the most valuable features is that the app recognizes more than 1,000 medications by bar code and gives suggested withdrawal times for competition animals,” said Jennifer. The drug information is constantly updated by board specialized equine veterinarians, which gives you the most accurate data. It will even take into accountant the route the drug was given, for example into a joint and the dose administered, to calculate this suggested withdrawal time.”

This product has regulations included for USEF and FEI – so when they scan the drug, it shows the suggested withdraw time - which helps you plan for your competitions.

The app gives you piece of mind that you are complying with the regulations. In addition, you eliminate error of giving the incorrect medication to a horse. So many drugs have similar names and mistakes can happen through simple lack of communication. With barcode scanning, this eradicates the problem. “We designed the tool to be very simple - a touch of a button and very secure,” said Jennifer.

Bio-Thermo® Microchip Advantages
“A high percentage of sport horses in Europe have a microchip,” said Jennifer, and she is hoping that the Bio-Thermal microchip will become the new normal to provide a powerful tool in managing disease control.  “We became a commercial partner with Merck Animal Health because they needed software to record the data from their Bio-Thermo® microchips – as a veterinarian I’ve been very impressed with the results from these.”  “I have one in my own horse which allows me to monitor her temperature because every animal has a unique daily pattern. Each animal has their own normal, so it’s hard to measure against an average. One day she came up with a spike – and it wasn’t a fever – we took blood and found a tooth abscess. I found out about this way sooner than normal, thanks to the Bio-Thermo® chip. Kinsale stud in England who use the Bio-Thermo® microchips in their foals report they could pick up animals that were unwell two days before other clinical signs from a change in the temperature graph.”

Subscription Service
EquiTrace is a subscription, and it is important to know that the data stays with the person, not the horse, so if you sell your horse, you keep the horses’ data. “The new owner can’t just scan the microchip without having the subscription and access to the data which is encrypted. We know security is important especially when we have big stud farms as our customers,” explained Jennifer.

There is a basic level subscription and for stud farms, a premium package subscription is available. “For as little as $2 per horse per month, EquiTrace is saving you time and integrity; and you can monitor your horse remotely.” The standard monthly/per horse subscription is designed for individuals and for show grounds there is an annual subscription depending on their requirements.

Free Trial
You’ll need to sign up for an account in the app and you’ll get a free trial for the month. In addition, once you have a microchip - it comes with a scanner. If you want to use the temperature reader, you buy the Bio-Thermal microchip from Merck.

The Team Behind EquiTrace
“I’m very proud of the team because we are providing a high-quality, easy to use product and that all comes from the intelligence of the software development from Dr Paul Hayton, CTO and PhD from Oxford. Dr Kevin Corley our CSO is a double boarded specialist in equine medicine and critical care DACVECC DACVIM a world renowned expert in horse health.”

Current accolades include:
Winner of the Enterprise Ireland Innovation Awards Best Veterinary Technology and Best Overall startup company
KPMG finalists – Global Tech Innovators

Customer Feedback and Support
“We recently had a top groom use the solution and said, “I hate computers, but I love this.” Jennifer confirmed, “That is what we need and that is why the laptop solutions have failed, the barn staff don’t have time to use one – it’s got to be done by the side of the horse - scan it and you are done.”

“If we get questions from subscribers you can count on having a human answer on the other line; you won’t get a bot,” said Jennifer. They are convinced they have a quality product and are investing in staff. All of the software is developed in house in Ireland. With a commitment to making it easy for the barn staff, they are also adding a Spanish translation feature to the product. “We haven’t lost a customer to date. We have 100% retention which is phenomenal and something we are very proud of.”

Industry Support
“We have a relationship with the US Trotting Association, they have been quick to adopt technology and are very forward thinking – all of their horses have the Bio-Thermo® microchips – they see this as a way to promote welfare and protect from disease outbreaks shared Jennifer.

“We’ve had great interest with racetracks in the US – especially since the industry is really working on welfare and clean sport. As of January 1st – all medications used in racehorses will have to be recorded by federal law and reported within 24 hours. Having a tech solution like EquiTrace could help make it simple and easy to be compliant.

Giving Back
EquiTrace works with a racing welfare organization that rehabs racehorses after their time at the track. “We are working with Racing to Relate and Bristol University to help work on rehoming animals after racing, there is a perception that racing doesn’t care about the animal after they leave the sport. But, this is a huge concern for everyone involved in racing right now.  Many horses do go on to wonderful second careers, even helping people through equine therapy. EquiTrace provides a way for the sport to trace horses because it can be linked to the microchip.  When a horse is rehomed, you can track what happens to that animal from vet checks, vaccines and more. Better monitoring and measuring these efforts will lead to better welfare.”

“We see this as a great fit throughout the world, and the problems are truly global, so we are beginning to look at high-net worth investors for the next stage of our journey. It is definitely time to use technology on horses, but it has to be the right fit. Creating something that works for both horse people and horses takes a special team,” Jennifer highlighted.

Website: https://equitrace.app

Twitter: @equitrace_app
Facebook: @EquiTrace
Instagram: equitrace5
Available in the App store and Google play: https://apps.apple.com/ie/app/equitrace-pro/id1483390896