A new platform has been launched with the aim of “cleaning up” the equestrian industry by creating digital footprints for horses and enabling safe and secure transactions.
Equiyd has been founded by Cheshire-based Michelle Lea and Claire Spencer, who believe the platform is the first of its kind. It aims to protect buyers and sellers by offering transparent horse histories, digital vetting records, secure payment solutions and insurance support.
“The idea was born at the side of the showring” said Michelle. “We’ve both bought horses seen and unseen, from the UK and abroad. You put so much faith in the seller to be honest in their communications; you’re literally handing thousands of pounds over to somebody you’ve never met.
“There’s a reason why social media channels are littered with ‘dodgy horse dealer’ groups and tales of transactions gone wrong, not to mention the welfare issue of horses being mis-sold and medical conditions not being disclosed. The equestrian industry can do better, and we’re hoping Equiyd will be the start of that.”
Equiyd checks and authenticates everyone in the purchase process, and the horse profile includes key information so buyers can be more confident of the background of their potential new equine. It also provides a transparency score for additional confidence.
“The key feature is a profile that stays with the horse,” said Claire. “Everything these days has a digital footprint, so this is the start of a horse’s digital hoofprint. If the horse is sold later down the line, the profile transfers to the new owner and they have a full history of the horse that’s been verified.
“Communications are all done securely within the platform, from arranging the vetting and paying the deposit, to the final balance payment and arranging of delivery or collection.”
The platform also hopes to eradicate the most common disputes: “Buyers don’t have to use the vetting feature”, added Claire. “But if they did, and the vetting failed, the buyer deposit is automatically returned, rather than having a cycle of chasing funds. This is the platform we wished was available when we bought our own horses.”
To find out more visit equiyd.com
