One Chip Scan Reveals Full Horse Health Profile: Xinjiang’s First Modern Equine Hospital Opens in Zhaosu
ZHAOSU, Xinjiang – The digital equine management system at Zhaosu Stud Farm Equine Hospital has officially gone into operation. As Xinjiang’s first specialised modern hospital for equids, the facility was completed in July 2025. After more than a year of equipment commissioning, staff training and technical refinement, it has evolved from offering basic health services into an integrated hub for clinical treatment, breeding and digital herd management, delivering robust technological support to boost the quality and efficiency of the Ili horse industry.
Fully equipped with an operating theatre, anaesthesia recovery room, inpatient stables, clinical laboratory and frozen semen production centre, the hospital provides specialised services including X-ray scanning, ultrasound, CT, laboratory testing and equine surgery.
Deng Haifeng, Chief Animal Husbandry Engineer of Zhaosu Stud Farm Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Development Co., Ltd. under Ili Prefecture, said that since launch, the hospital has focused on routine physical examinations, disease screening and ongoing health monitoring for horses. It also provides on-site veterinary support for major events such as the Heavenly Horse Festival and the Silk Road Endurance Ride, bringing convenient professional services to local herders.
“The hospital has comprehensive equipment, which makes things much easier for us,” said Shatke Yeras, a resident from Guangming Community in Zhaosu Town. The area keeps a large number of racehorses, which often suffer from lameness and sports injuries after competitions. Precise diagnostic tools now enable thorough examinations and targeted treatment, greatly improving safeguards for equine health.
Digitalisation lies at the heart of the hospital’s upgrade. Passive electronic microchips implanted in each horse carry a unique identification code, serving as the animal’s exclusive digital ID. Scanning the chip connects instantly to the “Horse Steward” digital platform, where users can pull up complete records including pedigree, growth logs, vaccination history, medical treatment files and breeding archives. The system enables full-lifecycle traceability and dynamic management of each horse.
This digital model addresses long-standing pain points under traditional paper-based record-keeping, such as fragmented, missing data and experience-driven breeding decisions. Big data-powered scientific mating helps avoid inbreeding and continuously purify and improve the genetic quality of Ili horses.
Duan Xingxun, Director of Zhaosu Stud Farm Equine Hospital, noted that supported by special provincial-level policies for high-quality horse industry development, Zhaosu’s horse sector is shifting from traditional free-range rearing to standardised, science-based management. In partnership with the Xinjiang Academy of Animal Science, the hospital has mastered the production and insemination technology for equine frozen semen straws. The breakthrough has drastically lifted the utilisation rate of elite breeding stallions, cut breeding costs and accelerated crossbreeding improvement of Ili horses.
“We will keep advancing elite equine breeding technologies and refining our smart husbandry system. Technology will continue to drive industrial upgrading and sustain high-quality growth for Zhaosu’s horse sector,” Duan said.
Yao Xinkui, President of the Xinjiang Horse Industry Association, commented that the integrated model combining specialist veterinary care, premium breeding and digital filing fills a gap in the downstream service chain of Xinjiang’s horse industry. It marks a shift from experience-based horse raising to science-led production and offers a replicable demonstration model for equine development across Xinjiang.