Equine Innovations: Implementing AI In Horse Safety
AI is something that integrates into your phone. Not your horse. Or is it? New technological developments have paired physical items with AI to improve equine management and safety. The development is similar to the Internet of Things technology, in which objects are paired with the Internet via Bluetooth. The integration of AI allows humans to not only take data from horses but also to interpret it in real-time.
What implications could this have for the long-term future of horse safety? While it’s early to say, IoT in equine management could improve both the way injuries are treated and the methods by which horses are raised, trained, and transported.
Overview
Injury is a big part of horse racing that often goes unreported. When you research how does horse betting odds work in anticipation of the Preakness Stakes or the Kentucky Derby, you hope for a healthy horse during the race. Watching on television, you might assume it’s exactly what you get. The reality? Horses in less than excellent condition are often entered with disastrous results.
The Melbourne Cup is particularly associated with injuries resulting in horse deaths. It happened most recently in 2020, with an earlier example in 2015. In both cases, the horses had to be euthanized within weeks of racing at Melbourne. AI can’t completely eliminate these sad occurrences. It can help reduce them.
Monitoring and Predictions
AI is at its very best when it is taking data in and producing conclusions. This function is complicated but also objective. When we see funny/strange AI stories about Gemini advising Google users to eat a rock, we might reasonably think, “Maybe we shouldn’t trust this program with a $750,000 championship racehorse.” And okay. Maybe we shouldn’t—without additional supervision.
But most major AI errors come when the programs are asked to make subjective determinations. Give them numbers and ask them to produce conclusions, and many AI programs are considerably more accurate. In equine management, AI can be used to monitor a horse’s condition down to the most minute detail.
When a horse gets injured, the indications are often invisible at an early glance. There might be the smallest change to the animal’s stride or running speed—signs that even a really good trainer can easily overlook. Unfortunately, when indications of an injury are easily spotted, it generally means that the horse is already hurt. For the animal, that means more suffering. For the team behind it, that could mean an enormous loss of money and opportunity. Remember that racing careers are usually very short—just a couple of years.
AI programs paired with wearable devices can catch those indications early and direct the management team toward solutions.
These insights are delivered through wearable devices. There are saddle clips that analyze the rider’s movement. This can detect injury and also just help the jockey refine their technique through more granular insights.
There are even bridle clips that can produce data on everything from the horse’s vitals—breathing, heart rate, etc.—to what angle it positions its head while moving.
Advanced devices now include GPS trackers that monitor location and movement patterns throughout training. Accelerometers embedded in leg wraps measure each step for subtle changes in gait. Some systems even include temperature sensors that alert trainers to potential illness before visible symptoms appear. This comprehensive monitoring creates a digital baseline for each horse, making it easier to spot deviations that could indicate health issues.
Behind the Scenes Monitoring
Even the most competitive racehorses spend most of their lives off the track. What can AI do for them in their time off? There are apps like Happie Horse that monitor things like diet, nutrition, and other health baseline considerations. The app will automatically push notifications to the owner when something is fishy. A little like getting a text from your horse—hey. Something seems off about this.
Not to be ignored either are the contributions that AI is making to veterinary science. There, artificial intelligence is being used to streamline the diagnosis process and possibly reduce mistakes. Vets can use AI programs to time in symptoms and narrow down possible culprits. They can also use it to streamline X-ray review. That’s not to even mention how much having data from wearables improves the vet’s ability to do their job.
Balanced Approach
With all of these wearable devices, it’s not so difficult to imagine a future where horses are harnessed up with more hardware than Darth Vader. Technology is important, but so is balance. Human discretion will always play an important role in the way that horses are managed. AI is a great way to streamline processes, not replace them.
The most successful implementations combine technology with traditional horsemanship. Experienced trainers use AI data points as additional information rather than final decisions. While sensors can detect minute physical changes, humans still excel at interpreting behavior, emotional states, and context. The goal remains optimal horse welfare rather than data collection for its own sake.