Researchers can use motion capture technology to study equine locomotion and biomechanics. | Photo: Courtesy Qualisys

How equine researchers are using the latest gadgets and gizmos to diagnose lameness, collect data, and much more

Smartphones, flat-screens, high-speed cameras, analog software, GPS tracking, Bluetooth. These amazing technological advances and more have changed the way we live, work, play, and communicate. But that’s not all they’re doing. They’re equipping researchers worldwide for studying horses in ways they might have thought impossible just a few decades ago.

In this article we’ll take a look at some of the most exciting technological advances in equine research and how they’re helping scientists better understand horse health, movement, behavior, emotions, and learning. We’ll see why technology matters and where it’s leading us.

Giving Horses a Voice

In situations ranging from housing and social separation to locomotor pain and relationships with humans and beyond, technological devices are opening windows into the equine mind. Researchers have frequently relied on assumptions about what horses feel and think. But the latest sensors, monitors, detectors, readers, and other gadgets are taking the guesswork out of this area of science