Databooster Shaping Workshop: Data-Driven Welfare Monitoring for Horses

By Miriam Baumgartner, Agroscope, Stefan Rieder, Identitas and Jürg Meierhofer, ZHAW

On July 3, 2023, we conducted an insightful databooster idea shaping workshop in a domain with traditionally rather low degree of digitalization, but yet a considerable potential to create value for the actors of the ecosystem. Precision livestock farming allows the automatic monitoring of animal health and welfare. Its potential has been proven particularly in the dairy sector. Not so much attention has been paid to the digital monitoring of equine welfare, although the well- being of horses is of great concern to their owners and of public interest.

We created a layout of the business and private ecosystem and evaluated the needs terms of jobs and pains of different actors. At the same time, a strong focus was put on the economic quantification of the pains and their potential mitigation or elimination, which provided some results which were previously not obvious in their qualitative and quantitative dimension and which contribute relevant elements for a business case.

The workshop was substantially complemented by the expert knowledge from «Hochschule für Wirtschaft und Umwelt Nürtingen-Geislingen (HfWU)» and BestTUPferd GmbH (Berlin) and moderated by Jürg Meierhofer from the databooster.