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.
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.
