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A high-tech headcollar has been developed so owners can read their horses’ vital signs from afar.
Nightwatch allows owners to remotely check their horses’ heart and respiratory rates, motion and posture, with the use of a smart phone.
Texas-based Jeffrey Schab was inspired to create the device after his own horse died in 2013.
“We lost one of our beloved horses to a rare colic event in the middle of the night,” he told H&H. “He was just eight years old and he died alone in his stall.”
Mr Schab wanted to create a product that allows owners to check horses’ welfare while away from the yard.
The product, which can be worn as a headcollar or as a simple strap around the top of the horse’s neck, contains embedded sensors.
It monitors real-time statistics from the horse, which are sent from the device to an app on a phone or computer that can notify the owner if the horse’s condition changes.
Never miss out on the latest happenings in the equestrian world
The headcollar is made from leather and features multiple breakaway points.
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Nightwatch is currently undergoing safety and compliance tests and will be distributed in the summer. It can be pre-ordered online at a reduced price of $499.99 (￡355).
Currently Nightwatch is only on sale in North America, but Mr Schab hopes to make it available elsewhere in the world in the future.
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Rachael joined Horse & Hound in 2014, initially as a digital sub editor then became part of the news team as a writer in 2015. The philosophy graduate studied journalism at the Press Association before working as a local reporter at the Brentwood Gazette. Rachael is now a mum of two and still loves all things equestrian, including hacking, dressage and jumping with her cob Bert. Rachael left the H&H staff to go freelance in June 2019, but still contributes to our magazine and website, as well as our sister magazine Country Life, among others.