Reviews needed on horse sensors: Nightwatch, Trackener, Arioneo, Equestic, Polar, Ceefit, Hylofit

[Asya]

Is there anyone who has tried or who owns one of the following products?

NightWatch Smart Halter
Trackener
Arioneo
Equestic
Polar Equine
Ceefit by Seaver
Hylofit

I, along with my group mates Lara and Lana, am in the process of writing a research report for Aeres University of Applied Sciences, about the various sensor products on the market for horses.

If you happen to have experience with one of the devices listed above, I would love for you to take the time to answer these following 5 questions, so that we can get a better idea of the quality and reliability of this product.

1. What discipline do you train?
2. In what ways has this product improved your horse’s welfare/performance?
3. What challenges have you faced using this product?
4. Does the price for this product seem reasonable to you given the functions and accuracy?
5. Would you recommend this product to another rider/horse owner?

Thanks in advance!

[Jealoushe]

Hylofit is no longer as of 2021.

[Asya]

Yes, I am aware of that but we will continue collecting data on this product.

[LilDunFilly]

I worked at a barn that was using NightWatch halters for a bit so I’ll chime in with that.
Discipline: Used them on several broodmares prior to foaling/for a month or so after foaling
Improvement: Can’t really say it improved anything? Barn just had them on to track data about the mares for some research study (how much time the horses spent laying down, etc.)
Challenges: The fit wasn’t great. We only had one size for the mares (the halters apparently only come in cob, horse, and oversize) but the ones we had didn’t fit well. The crownpiece was constantly sliding back and was really thick so the mares tended to sweat heavily under them, which really matted their manes. The battery has to be charged every 12 hours so you need 2 per horse if you plan to keep them on 24/7.
Price: I can’t really comment on this. The halters were donated to us for the study (had to return them eventually).
Recommendation: I’m not sure if I’d personally recommend this for a similar set up (broodmares who are supposed to be out in a field but have limited handling outside of that). The information the halter sent back didn’t affect their day-to-day handling; it didn’t alert anyone to foaling as the barn did a foal watch regardless. If it is a halter that is supposed to be on 24/7, the fact you have to buy 2 to get that coverage seems pricy. The halters are around $1k for just the basic package/single halter, so the price of two seems steep. I was personally more interested in using one of the halters for show animals away from home; each horse would only need one halter that can be charged during the day when they’re not using it.

[Asya]

Thank you so much!

[RedHorses]

Equestic (for two years)

1. Dressage, Endurance, cross training over jumps.

2. My older horse injured his stifle early in 2019. The clip data showed the asymmetry in his trot and indicated which diagonal he was favouring. Initial vet diagnosis was strained muscle, ultrasound after two weeks without improvement showed torn meniscus. Once we began ridden rehab the trot symmetry data showed me when he was favouring the injured leg and I was able to back off before he got sore enough to notice.

In regular training of my younger horse the trot symmetry analysis allowed me to target exercises and pay additional attention to keeping the horse working correctly on the weaker side. I can track the intensity of my rides and push more or ease up.

3. Learning to be patient and double check that I did turn it on, save the ride (I would prefer an automatic save), remember to charge the clip, take my phone with me, understand the analysis. I did have some odd data issues early on, but communication with the company was easy and did get those issues resolved. I had some trouble wrapping my brain around the left vs right in the trot symmetry analysis because the clip assigns diagonal by front leg (left front, right front) and I was focused on the hind.

4. Yes.

5. I do.