What Hoofstep does

Hoofstep is a connected-hardware and AI software company that provides 24/7 remote health, behavior and location monitoring for horses. Founded in 2016 in Helsingborg, Sweden, and now headquartered in San Diego with EU operations in Halmstad, Sweden, the company targets individual horse owners, professional competition riders and trainers, breeders, and equine veterinarians and researchers.

The core product is a forehead-mounted smart halter with a rechargeable sensor unit (96x47x45mm, 149g, IP67-rated, approximately 10-day battery, -20 to 50 °C operating range) that captures GPS, motion and activity data. This hardware feeds proprietary artificial intelligence trained on what the company describes as the world's largest equine behavior dataset (1M+ hours of data since 2016), recognizing 130+ equine movements and behaviors including gaits, chewing, sleeping, riding, foaling, and early indicators of colic, lameness and laminitis. Data is delivered via a companion iOS/Android app with location tracking, pasture heatmaps, behavior analytics, breeding/foaling alerts and a two-level (minor/major) anomaly alarm system compatible with Apple Watch and other smartwatches.

Hoofstep generates revenue through a hardware starter kit (smart halter plus sensor) paired with a recurring subscription priced by number of horses and by monthly versus annual pre-payment cadence. Distribution is direct-to-consumer via the company's own website and through the Apple App Store and Google Play; no third-party resellers are referenced. The company has raised a single disclosed seed round of approximately $474,360 from Almi Invest in November 2017, has 11-50 employees, and is currently preparing the launch of a next-generation device and updated app.

Name

Hoofstep

Legal name

Hoofstep, Inc.

Website

https://hoofstep.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Hoofstep is a connected-hardware and AI company selling a smart halter sensor and subscription mobile app that provide 24/7 health, behavior and location monitoring for individual horse owners, professional riders, breeders and equine veterinarians.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Equine Wearable Health Technology

NAICS

Horses and Other Equine Production (112920), Horses and Other Equine Production (11292)

SIC

Agricultural Prod-Livestock & Animal Specialties (200)

akta.pro primary industry

Sports Medicine, Lameness & Performance (Equine) (HLAMABAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Equine Ambulatory & On-Farm Veterinary Services (HLAMABAE)

Keywords

• Equine health monitoring
• Smart halter technology
• Horse behavior AI
• Wearable livestock sensors
• Animal activity tracking

Headquarters

HQ city

Helsingborg

HQ country

Sweden

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Monthly/annual subscriptions for monitoring services: Recurring subscription service priced based on number of horses and payment cadence (monthly or annual pre-payment). Provides access to the monitoring app, behavior data, and alarm services.
2. Smart halter hardware (starter kit): One-time hardware sale of the HoofStep starter kit containing a smart halter with rechargeable monitoring device, generating equipment revenue alongside subscription services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

HoofStep sells an integrated equine monitoring system built around a smart halter with a forehead-mounted IoT sensor (GPS, motion/IMU, processor, radiocom) and a companion iOS/Android mobile app. The hardware is bundled as a starter kit and activated through a monthly or annual subscription that unlocks the company's proprietary AI, which detects 130+ equine behaviors and emits two-level safety alarms for conditions such as colic, lameness and laminitis. The offering is sold direct-to-consumer to horse owners, riders, trainers, breeders and veterinarians globally.

Product overview

HoofStep is a single integrated product composed of three hardware pieces — the HoofStep Headgear (smart halter), the HoofStep Horse Unit (rechargeable GPS/sensor/processor device), and the HoofStep USB Adaptor (charger) — sold as the HoofStep Starter Kit and activated by the HoofStep Subscription Service. The companion HoofStep App ties everything together, delivering the company's proprietary AI capabilities across several feature modules: Alerts and Alarms (two-level anomaly notifications), GPS / Location Tracking (real-time and historical positioning plus pasture heatmaps), 'Know Your Horse' Behavior Analytics (eating, resting, activity, energy, distance, stress), Breeding Monitoring (mare/foal alerts), and Performance Monitoring (training and competition support). The subscription is priced by the number of horses and by monthly vs. annual prepayment.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• HoofStep Starter Kit Bundled package sold to horse owners and trainers containing the smart halter (HoofStep Headgear) with the rechargeable monitoring device (HoofStep Horse Unit), the core physical product that activates the HoofStep AI monitoring service.
• HoofStep Horse Unit (smart sensor) Rechargeable sensor device that mounts in the HoofStep Headgear and continuously captures the horse's behavior and location; current generation integrates GPS, motion/IMU sensors, processor and radiocom in an IP67 housing with ~10-day battery life.
• HoofStep Headgear (smart halter) Soft, flexible-shell halter designed with veterinarians that holds the HoofStep Horse Unit on the horse's forehead — the placement validated to capture the richest behavioral signal — with sizes Cob, Full and X-Full, REACH-certified washable material, and a safety break-away design that frees the horse if caught.
• HoofStep USB Adaptor (charger) Power adaptor (100–240 V / 50–60 Hz input, 5 V / 3 A output, EU/UK/US sockets, CE- and FCC-certified) used to recharge the HoofStep Horse Unit.
• HoofStep Subscription Service Recurring monthly or annual subscription that activates the connected-app experience, AI-driven behavioral insights, alerts/alarms, GPS tracking, heatmaps, and breeding and performance analytics for the HoofStep smart-halter hardware.
• HoofStep App Companion iOS/Android mobile application that delivers real-time GPS location, behavior classification, alerts/alarms, herd heatmaps, and breeding and performance analytics for horses equipped with the HoofStep smart halter.

Quantifiable outcome

• 1M+ hours of equine behavior data collected since 2016 — described as the world's largest dataset of horse behaviors
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

AI capability5 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered flagship research partnership, regional research collaboration, core ecosystem partner and core distribution channel.

• Brösarp-Kumlan, Sweden (yearling monitoring research site)flagship research partnershipStrategic or Co-development PartnerThree-year monitoring of yearlings conducted at Brösarp-Kumlan in Sweden. The collected yearling growth data was analyzed in-depth to support the theory that early pasture management increases longevity and sustainability of promising showjumpers.
• Austrian research partners (equine behavior projects)regional research collaborationStrategic or Co-development PartnerOngoing HoofStep-supported research project in Austria using HoofStep monitoring data and AI for equine behavior studies.
• Dutch research partners (Netherlands equine behavior projects)regional research collaborationStrategic or Co-development PartnerOngoing HoofStep-supported research project in the Netherlands using HoofStep monitoring data and AI for equine behavior studies.
• Finnish research partners (Finland equine behavior projects)regional research collaborationStrategic or Co-development PartnerOngoing HoofStep-supported research project in Finland using HoofStep monitoring data and AI for equine behavior studies.
• Renowned universities (EU and US)core ecosystem partnerStrategic or Co-development PartnerHoofstep collaborates with renowned universities, scientists, AI technologists, trainers and veterinarians across the EU and United States. These partners participate in pilots and studies using HoofStep's data and devices for equine behavior research.
• Google Play (Android app distribution)core distribution channelChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorHoofStep distributes its Android mobile app via Google Play; a new app version is planned for release with the next-generation device.
• Apple App Store (iOS app distribution)core distribution channelChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorHoofStep distributes its iOS mobile app via the Apple App Store; a new app version is planned for release with the next-generation device.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Whistle (Mars Petcare): Whistle, owned by Mars Petcare, is the category-leading GPS and health-activity tracker for dogs. While it serves a different species, it is the dominant pet-activity-monitoring brand and the most likely competitor if Hoofstep's data and AI capability attracts pet-industry entrants. Directly comparable business model (device + subscription).
• Garmin (animal tracking products): Garmin's Astro and Alpha lines provide GPS tracking for hunting dogs and working dogs, and Garmin has explored equine wearables. While not equine-specialized, Garmin's hardware engineering scale, distribution and brand could allow it to enter the horse-monitoring category if Hoofstep proves the demand case.
• Allflex Livestock Intelligence (Merck Animal Health): Allflex, part of Merck Animal Health, is the dominant provider of livestock identification and monitoring sensors worldwide. It validates the large-scale commercial opportunity for animal-behavior IoT and represents a well-capitalized incumbent that Hoofstep's technology could eventually compete with or be acquired by.
• Zoetis (animal health technology): Zoetis, the world's largest animal health company, has been investing in connected diagnostics, wearables and AI for livestock and companion animals. A broad incumbent whose strategic moves into equine monitoring would materially affect Hoofstep's runway and exit options.

Direct peers

• PetPace: PetPace offers a smart collar with AI-driven health and behavior analytics for dogs and cats, including early-warning alerts for medical issues. Comparable to Hoofstep's veterinary-grade behavioral AI and alert logic, though applied to companion pets rather than horses.
• CowManager: CowManager is a leading ear-tag-based AI monitoring system for dairy cows that detects health, fertility and nutrition issues from behavior data. Operates in an adjacent (bovine) livestock segment but uses the same IoT-sensor + behavior-AI + subscription architecture as Hoofstep, making it a strong functional comparable for the platform approach.
• Tractive: Tractive provides GPS pet trackers with subscription services across dogs, cats and other animals, with a focus on live location and activity monitoring. Shares Hoofstep's device-plus-subscription GTM and GPS-heatmap functionality, though at much larger scale and broader species coverage.
• Halter: Halter (New Zealand) builds GPS-enabled smart collars for dairy cattle that provide virtual fencing, health alerts and pasture analytics. Highly comparable technology stack (smart wearable + AI + app) and is one of the better-funded ag-tech companies globally — a relevant benchmark for Hoofstep's potential livestock expansion.
• FitBark: FitBark builds AI-powered activity and health monitoring devices (dog wearables) paired with a subscription app — the closest direct analog to Hoofstep's horse-monitoring concept, applied to companion dogs. Highly comparable product architecture (wearable + cloud AI + subscription) and target-market logic (individual pet owners seeking behavioral insights).

Regional players

• MooMonitor+ (Dairymaster): Dairymaster's MooMonitor+ is a leading dairy-cow fertility and health monitoring system based on ear-tag sensors and AI. Adjacent in technology (IoT sensor + behavior AI + subscription), and operates primarily in EU/UK dairy markets — a useful regional comparable for Hoofstep's EU execution capability.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/hoofstep

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Hoofstep