Networked Wearable Sensors for Monitoring Health and Activities of an Equine Herd: An IoT Approach to Improve Horse Welfare

Over the past decade, wearable sensors for animals have significantly advanced. These devices, combined with sophisticated analysis tools, can reveal important health and behavioral correlations, such as the relationship between heart rates (HRs) and animals’ geographic movements. Despite their potential, widespread implementation in herds has been limited by challenges in sensor network communication. Building on our previous success with wearable vital sign sensors for horses, this study demonstrates an Internet of Things (IoT) framework that networks devices across an equine herd. Equipped with integrated photoplethysmography (PPG) sensors for 95% accurate HR monitoring, GPS for location tracking, and motion-detecting accelerometers and gyroscopes, our system offers holistic sensing capabilities. We found that horses near environmental stressors—such as service roads, barns, or feeding stations—not only show higher average HRs but also spend more time in these areas, constrained by their environment. This underscores our approach’s potential to improve animal welfare and advance precision agriculture by providing detailed insights into the effects of environmental factors on herd behavior.