Dr Kevin Corley, co-founder of award-winng app EquiTrace, is flying out to the USA this week to attend the Breeders Cup meeting at Del Mar, Southern California, in his capacity as a specialist in equine critical care. While there, he will visit California and Texas, with Merck Animal Health representatives, further developing the alliance between the two companies. The Irish racing world will be well represented at the Breeders Cup as seven Irish trainers will be there with entries in a number of races. Dermot Weld, who is using EquiTrace on his farm, has Tarnawa, owned by the Aga Khan, entered for the Longlines Breeders Cup Turf following her 2nd place in the L’Arc de Triomphe in October. The horse industry in America is worth over $102bn and employs over 450,000 people full time, as EquiTrace CEO Jennifer Corley says ‘It is the biggest industry hiding in plain sight’.
‘It’s great that Ireland and America can do business again’ said Dr Corley. ‘Through our relationship with Merck, we have found America a very positive place to do business and explore the possibilities of the app.’
EquiTrace is the first digital identification and medical monitoring app for the horse world, with a quick scan of a microchip enabling rapid identification, GPS location and medical records in barn or field just as well as in the built environment. Working in low internet environments was just one of the technical challenges that the EquiTrace founders had to conquer. Created by Dr Kevin Corley and Jennifer Corley, specialist equine veterinarians, with technology expert Dr Paul Hayton, and based on their experiences working with competition yards, EquiTrace prioritises horse welfare management and makes it much easier to ensure that the right horse gets the right treatment at the right time. Using EquiTrace dramatically reduces paperwork, saving the cost of two full time salaries according to Court Considine. Nearly 20,000 horses are already registered with the app.
EquiTrace recently won two prestigious awards in Ireland at the National Ploughing Association and Enterprise Ireland’s Innovation Arena awards. EquiTrace won Best Overall Start Up and Best Veterinary Technology.
EquiTrace is a subscription service, with a basic service for $1/€1 per month per horse and a premium subscription at $2/€2 per month per horse. A scanner available from EquiTrace as a one-time cost is required to operate the system, ranging in price from €250 to €400 or USA $350 to $550. EquiTrace works with all ISO-compliant microchips and some of the service offerings will be dependent on the type of chip in the horse. For instance, scanning Merck’s biotherm chip enables a horse’s temperature to be taken much more safely than the current rectal thermometer process. EquiTrace is available on Apple and Google appstores. Establishments with over 200 horses can contact EquiTrace directly to arrange a subscription. Current clients include DK Weld in Ireland, Three Chimneys Farm in Kentucky, USA, Kinsale Stud in the UK and Avantea in Italy.
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