Cases of free-range grazing horses in Xinjiang

For the key livelihood project of Fuhai County in 2024, Fenglan Intelligent’s solution has precisely resolved the management predicament of free-range horses in the northern border area. Fuhai County currently has over 32,000 horses of various breeds such as Ili horses and Kazakh horses. The herdsmen continue the traditional rotational grazing model of “grazing high mountains in summer and river valleys in winter”. The activity range of a single herd of horses can reach 80 square kilometers. In addition, the terrain of the Altai Mountain range is complex and the lowest temperature in winter can reach -45 ℃. “Difficulty in finding horses, fatigue in managing them and pain in losing them” used to be a common problem for local herdsmen. “Three stallions were lost in the winter of 2023, and the breeding loss alone exceeded 120,000 yuan.” ” The account books of Halimulati record the costs of traditional breeding. Nowadays, the “Beidou Muxun V3” collar of Fenglan Intelligent is becoming the “electronic manager” for free-range horses. ​

In response to the extreme environment in Xinjiang’s pastoral areas, Fenglan Intelligent has customized and developed a smart collar that concealing multiple technological breakthroughs. The device adopts a dual-mode positioning chip of Beidou-3 and GPS. Through distributed base station networking technology, it can still achieve high-precision positioning within 3 to 8 meters in weak signal areas such as mountainous regions and canyons. Coupled with a 12000mAh low-temperature battery and intermittent transmission algorithm, the battery life exceeds 36 months, completely solving the problem of frequent battery swapping in extremely cold winter weather. The collar shell is made of military-grade fluororubber material that is resistant to biting and has passed the IP68 water and dust resistance certification. It has been tested and can withstand extreme weather conditions such as sandstorms and rain and snow. It weighs only 160 grams and does not affect the horse’s daily activities such as running and jumping after wearing. More importantly, the accompanying “Fenglan Smart Ranch” cloud platform can customize electronic fences. Once the horses exceed the range set by Halimulati, which is “from the west bank of Wulungu Lake in the north to the foot of 萨吾尔 mountain in the south of the autumn ranch”, the mobile phone will immediately receive dual alerts of pop-up Windows and text messages. ​

The collar is not only a “locator”, but also a “health sentinel”. Halimulati slides his mobile phone to display the data graph. The three-axis motion sensor and temperature sensing module built into the collar collect data every five minutes. After analysis by Fenglan Intelligent’s AI algorithm, the “Vitality Index” and “Health Score” are generated. In August this year, the vitality index of a mare about to give birth suddenly dropped sharply from 85 to 42. The system immediately sent out a “suspected illness” warning. The veterinarian quickly arrived at the scene based on the location and promptly treated the early enteritis, avoiding the loss of miscarriage. “Previously, diagnosing horse diseases relied entirely on experience. Now, data speaks louder than words.” ” Ye Erjiang, the director of the Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Station of Fuhai County, introduced that the average detection time of horse diseases in the pilot area was advanced by 72 hours, the cure rate increased from 68% to 93%, and the cost of treating a single horse was reduced by 580 yuan. ​

In the field of reproductive management, the technological advantages of Fenglan Intelligent are also prominent. The collar monitors data such as the horse’s activity level and body temperature fluctuations, and combines AI algorithms to accurately predict the estrus period, pushing the best mating time three days in advance. The breeding success rate of the 12 mares in the Halimulati family has jumped from 65% in previous years to 92% this year, and the average idle period has been shortened by 22 days. The system can also record pedigree information, helping us avoid inbreeding and increasing the survival rate of newborn foals by 15%. Pointing at the electronic files on his mobile phone, he said, “Each horse can be traced back to its entire life cycle data, including birth, disease prevention, and breeding, providing precise data support for the geographical indication product certification of ‘Fuhai Tianma’.” ​

In the first half year of the project’s implementation, Fenglan Intelligent’s solution has demonstrated multiple benefits: the rate of lost horses in the pilot area has dropped from 15% in previous years to 1.2%, the average daily grazing time for herders has been shortened from 10 hours to 2 hours, and the average annual breeding benefit per horse has increased by 1,800 yuan. At the centralized training site in Jiete Arele Town, Fuhai County, herdsmen surrounded the technicians of Fenglan Intelligent to inquire about the functions of the equipment. “By paying a service fee of 12 yuan per month, you can check your location and health status in real time.” ” Bahetiguli Tuhudasen, a herdsman who has just applied for collars for 20 mares, has calculated the economic accounts. The savings in fuel and labor costs alone exceed 3,000 yuan each year. ​

The project leader of Fenglan Intelligent stated that the equipment deployment for over 2,800 horses has been completed in three towns of Fuhai County. In the next step, in line with the “High-Quality Development Plan for Altay Horse Industry”, new functional modules such as grassland carrying capacity monitoring and carbon footprint calculation will be added, upgrading the intelligent collar from a “management tool” to an “industrial engine”. Ganati Habulihan, director of the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Bureau of Fuhai County, pointed out that digital technology is rejuvenating traditional animal husbandry. It is expected that by the end of 2025, intelligent equipment will be fully covered in the core breeding areas of the entire county, promoting the transformation of the horse industry towards “standardized breeding, digital management, and brand products”.