Sligo start-up develops handheld blood test device for horses

Sligo start-up StableLab has developed a handheld blood test for horses that can produce results within minutes showing if a horse has an infection.

The device aims to save trainers, vets and horse owners the frustration of waiting several days for blood test results, which have to be sent to laboratories for analysis. It can deliver lab-standard blood analysis at the stable door, enabling vets to make an immediate diagnosis and prescribe treatment in a single visit.

The device, officially unveiled at the Dublin Horse Show yesterday, can also be used to assess fitness and performance potential, which is of particular importance in competitive fields such as racing.

Company founder and chief executive Dr Heinrich Anhold said the beauty of the product was its simplicity. "You don't need to send your blood sample to a lab and you don't need a PhD to interpret the results."

Dr Anhold, a former junior international showjumper, sold one of his top show horses to raise the initial seed capital needed to found the company almost four years ago.

US veterinarian Nathan Slovis of the Hagyard Equine Medical Institute in Kentucky said StableLab was a more sensitive indicator of equine inflammatory and infectious diseases than other lab methods.

“StableLab is a breakthrough in stall-side equine diagnostics and presents a new way of blood testing.”

The company said the device was the world’s first handheld blood test for horses, adding that later this year it would launch a handheld reader to allow users to quantify results and an iPhone app to allow users to store information.