November 15, 2011
By Larri Jo StarkeyThe American Quarter Horse Journal
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Troy Warnken of eyeD scans the iris of Son Shining Rooster as owner Sheryl Williams of Amarillo watches. Check back November 16 for more photos of the eyeD technology in action. (Journal photo)
No two snowflakes are alike. No two fingerprints are alike. And no two horses’ eyes are alike.
That’s the premise a horse identification program getting its debut at the 2011 AQHA World Championship Show.
EyeD is sponsoring several classes at the World Show, and company representative Troy Warnken has been busy the last few days scanning the irises of all the Superhorse contenders.
“We’re here to bring this technology to members of AQHA and inform them that there’s an alternative form of identification out there other than microchipping, branding or lip tattooing,” Troy explains.
On November 14, Troy scanned the irises of Son Shining Rooster, a 2005 bay stallion owned by Dr. Sheryl Williams of Amarillo.
“There are two infrared lenses in the camera that take the iris signature,” he says, holding a device that resembles a netbook computer on top of a power drill handle. “We already loaded his information in the machine from the list AQHA gave us. All we’ve got left on the enrollment part is to scan both eyes.”
Holding the machine steady, Troy gets down on one knee to scan the horse’s eyes.
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“There will be flash, no snap, nothing like that,” he says. “You’ll hear a little beep. Once the iris signature is done for the left side, I’ll move to the right side. Once that’s done, any time I scan one of those eyes, it’ll pull up as that horse that has been registered already and his identity would be verified.”
The process takes less than 60 seconds per eye. Horses can be scanned beginning at 3.5 months of age, Troy says, but the horse must be alive for the process to work.
“I think we’re right about 4,000 horses that we’ve done the iris scanning on,” he says. “Some veterinarians have been using our technology for more than a year now internally in their clinics. They scan the horse upon arrival, and they can plug in the entire history for that animal for that clinic.”
Troy thinks the eyeD technology will catch on, and he’ll demonstrate its effectiveness November 15 during the Superhorse Parade at the World Show.