Wearable device for racehorses could help prevent fatal injuries.

The world’s top thoroughbreds and jockeys compete across multiple races for a prize pot that this year totals more than £6.5 million. It’s a dangerous sport, however. More than 150 of the UK’s 14,000 or so racehorses are killed each year and thousands more are injured. In the US, around 500 are killed a year. A wearable device that monitors a horse’s physical well-being during a race could help. Major horse-racing events attract animal-rights campaigners. TV presenter and conservationist Anneka Svenska attended this year’s Royal Ascot wearing the largest hat in the event’s history. Streamers of red roses cascaded to the ground to signify horses’ deaths at the races. Many of these deaths are due to over-exertion during a race or fractures that result in a horse being put down. The new device, called the Equimètre and developed by start-up Arioneo in Paris, France, is designed to reduce the number of fatalities and prevent injury as well as help trainers to hone a horse’s performance. The Equimètre’s sensor fits into the girth – a strap around a horse’s middle that keeps the saddle on. This records physiological data such as temperature and heart and respiratory rate – plus information about the animal’s movement such as acceleration and speed. The device also monitors environmental conditions, such as humidity. A trainer can view the data in real time via an app. There are existing smart devices for racehorses that capture this kind of data. But the Equimètre then runs the stats through algorithms that compare them with past performances. “A trainer’s eye is very important and we do not want to replace their expertise,” says Arioneo co-founder Valentin Rapin, “but this tool will give trainers information they don’t have today.” Rather than just showing an increase in heart rate, for example, the device can put this into context and tell the trainer what it means for that particular horse in those particular conditions. “It can prevent overtraining,” says Rapin. Rapin thinks the device will also help catch injuries such as bucked shins, where the tissue covering the shin bone becomes painfully inflamed. Around 70 per cent of young thoroughbred racehorses suffer from the condition and it can lead to more serious problems, such as stress fractures, which often result in a horse being killed. Rapin and his colleagues plan to launch the Equimètre in early 2017. Hervé Moreau, a horse vet based in La Ferté-Saint-Cyr, France, welcomes the device. “The early detection of locomotion problems can only improve diagnosis,” he says. “Similarly, optimizing the training programme will reduce the risk of stress fractures.” Contributed by the New scientist.