Why HerdID exists

HerdID started with heartbreak — and a question we couldn't ignore.

In 2025, we experienced the reality so many horse owners know too well. We lost multiple horses during an African Horse Sickness (AHS) outbreak, along with freak accidents that no one saw coming. In the middle of the chaos, we were speaking to our veterinarian and the same thought kept returning:

Why is it still so hard to learn from the past? Why is vital health history scattered across paper passports, WhatsApp messages, and clinic files? Why does so much context disappear the moment a horse changes hands, stables, or vets?

That moment sparked HerdID — not as 'another system', but as a new standard: a lifelong digital passport that preserves a horse's story with the seriousness it deserves.

Every horse has a story. HerdID makes sure it's never lost.

Equine care suffers when information doesn't follow the horse

Too often, decisions are made without the full picture — because the full picture is fragmented. Records live in different places, formats, and conversations. When something goes wrong, everyone scrambles for context.

HerdID is built to protect continuity: one horse, one trusted timeline — controlled by the right people, and structured for real clinical use.

A lifelong digital passport and clinical timeline

  • A single profile that stays with a horse for life
  • Vet notes, documents, imaging references, treatments, and key events organised into a timeline
  • Permissioned access for owners, vets, and stable managers
  • Designed to support clear handovers between people and places
  • AI used as memory and organisation, not diagnosis — with vet-approved governance

Our mission

To help the South African equine community preserve knowledge, improve continuity of care, and reduce preventable information loss — so every horse is supported by a clear, trusted record across its lifetime.

We can't stop every illness or accident. But we can make sure decisions are made with better context — and that hard-earned knowledge isn't lost.

Why this matters now

South Africa faces a real shortage of veterinary capacity, and many stables and owners are doing their best under pressure. When time is limited, clarity matters. HerdID aims to reduce needless back-and-forth and help professionals and owners work from the same source of truth.

Founders

Gareth and Jannelle de Wet, co-founders of HerdID

Gareth de Wet

Co-founder

Jannelle de Wet

Co-founder

Our principles

  • Welfare first: the horse is always the priority
  • Vet-respectful: tools that support clinical judgment, never replace it
  • Privacy by design: permissioned access and audit trails
  • Continuity matters: the story must outlive the moment
  • Built for real life: practical workflows, not perfect-world assumptions

Help build the standard

If you're an owner, veterinarian, or stable manager who believes equine care deserves better continuity, we'd love to build HerdID with you.