The initial stage of Equipass, the first digital passport of its kind for horses which has the aim of redefining horse identification, biosecurity and global mobility, will be rolled out later this month.

Introduced by the FEI at its General Assembly in Hong Kong, China last November, Equipass is an app which is designed to centralise essential information and integrate seamlessly with existing systems.

The app will be available to download from 26 January. Currently the app will only be available for horses that are registered with the FEI but over time it will expand to include other horse populations.

Equipass has been created to address the equestrian industry’s pressing need for accurate health records, regulatory compliance, and improved disease control.

The digital system allows owners, athletes, grooms, veterinarians, officials and authorities to access all essential data in one app.

It is hoped this will make it easier and faster to manage multiple horses, track vaccinations, and handle cross-border travel, while keeping the information secure and ensuring it is readily available. Owners do not need to recreate records which ensures consistency across systems and eliminates duplicate entries.

‘A milestone’

“Equipass represents a milestone for our sport,combining technological innovation, international reach, and multi‑stakeholder collaboration in a way that has never been achieved before,” said FEI veterinary director Göran Akerström.

“By consolidating critical information into a single digital platform, it streamlines logistics, strengthens biosecurity, and enhances equine welfare across the global community. Importantly, it also serves as a powerful safeguard against gene doping, reinforcing the integrity of horse sport at every level.”

Timeline

Equipass will be introduced in three stages:

  • Phase 1 (release date: 26 January 2026): mobile app and administration tools for all FEI-registered horses.
  • Phase 2 (end 2027 / early 2028): expansion to national horse populations, with the integration of interested National Federations.
  • Phase 3: opening of the system to interested studbooks and other stakeholders, with potential partnership and revenue-sharing models.

‘A single, unified system’

“This is the first platform of its kind to integrate horse identification, health records, vaccination tracking, travel documentation, and microchip scanning in a single, unified system, for lifetime traceability,” said Gaspard Dufour, FEI director of technology operations.

“Equipass gives every horse a verifiable digital identity, simplifying cross-border movement and supporting the increasingly stringent biosecurity requirements we face today. We are particularly proud of the thermal microchip scanning, which allows simultaneous verification of identity, location, and body temperature — a first in equestrian sport, with huge potential for automated biosecurity monitoring and real-time welfare oversight.

“This project is a perfect example of technical expertise meeting the real-world demands of the equestrian industry, all in the service of improving the welfare of horses worldwide. With multi-device access and real-time updates, Equipass is both practical and scalable. This is a tool that we believe will make a genuine difference for everyone who works with horses.”

Image © FEI.

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