Horse Illustrated Magazine

When a horse’s water consumption habits change, that can indicate a potential health problem. And if a horse stops drinking enough, it can lead to serious health risks like colic. But in certain situations it can be hard to monitor how much water a horse is consuming.

That was the inspiration behind Cornell engineering student Caitlin Parrucci’s invention, which was recently awarded a $5,000 Student Business of the Year Award fro Entrepreneurship at Cornell.

When one person takes care of a few horses, they’ll pretty quickly recognize each horse’s normal water consumption habits and know if something’s off. But at larger stables with multiple caretakers refilling buckets and troughs throughout the day, it’s not as easy to spot trends and changes. That’s where Parrucci’s invention comes in.

The device weighs how much water a horse drinks per day, and alerts the owner when there are significant changes.

Parrucci, currently completing her Master’s in Engineering, was a member of Cornell’s equestrian team beginning in her freshman year. She’ll use the team’s herd at Oxley Equestrian Center to test prototypes.

Read more at news.cornell.edu.