New scheme will allow owners to track horses

The scheme’s owners say their card is more convenient to carry around than a full horse passport.

ScotEquine aims to put all of Scotland’s horses and ponies on the map and to track their movements across the country.

Horse owners are invited to sign up for the scheme. The wallet-sized ScotEquine card is more convenient for carrying around than the existing paper horse passports and owners can sign up for their card at www.scotequine.com

Horse owners across Scotland have welcomed the scheme which adds another element of protection for horses and ponies and means that a horse owner has their full horse details with them wherever they are.

ScotEquine’s ethos is, “The more equines we know about, the better the system will work for everyone.”

Highland pony breeder Morven Campbell is a new cardholder. The owner of six Highland ponies, including one stallion which she puts out to stud, Morven says that holding the card had given her that extra peace of mind.

“The scheme gives you another layer of reassurance, and anything that makes things easier as a horse owner is a great idea!”

With the Highland breed still considered ‘at risk’ by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust, Morven needs to be able to keep track of her ponies when at shows as well as managing any disease transmission risk when breeding mares are brought to her yard.

Each one of her Highland ponies now has its own ScotEquine card, with its photo and details held on file.

Working from a remote farm, Morven welcomed the convenience that the ScotEquine scheme and its associated tracking App will bring, both when showing and breeding her ponies.

“The ScotEquine card means I don’t have to take all my ponies’ passports with me when I take them out to shows, I just need to carry their cards,” said Morven.

“The card will be a real positive to the showing scene and will play an important role in the management and tracking of potentially transferable diseases,” she added.

“The cards are much easier to carry than the full paper passport and will also come in handy when I am out hacking or hunting.

“Having a ScotEquine card makes sense, and I’d recommend anyone who is the keeper of a horse and moves their horses around to get one,” she added.

More about ScotEquine, including how to sign up to join the scheme and receive cards for each horse or pony, can be found at www.scotequine.com