You could put this on your horse, and use your mobile to find out where it has gone to.
http://www.amazon.com/SPOT-Satellite-Messenger-Orange-Black/dp/B002PHRDO2
http://www.amazon.com/SPOT-Inc-SPOT-1-Personal-Tracker/dp/B000YTZV74
Where you don’t have cell phone service you really need a PLB (the land equivalent of an EPIRB):
http://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/personal-locator-beacons.html
But it would need to be activated remotely by the rider. Not sure if that exists. And I wonder how emergency services would react when you tell them it is a horse! We need a horsey version of this!
what if they lose their tack? we lost a horse once (actually it just went home and was waiting there while we looked frantically around- somehow made it over 20 miles of roads to get home without anyone seeing it), and the horse did not have the saddle or bridle on when he arrived. Actually, the owner was really upset about the expensive missing saddle, so I guess we could have used the GPS unit to find the saddle.
You could use tracking dogs to find lost horses, too.
I have the TAGG tracker for one of my dogs. It would easily clip onto a breastplate or bridle. The battery life is only 2 days when it is out of the home zone and I think it still needs cell service to communicate with the tracking server.
For more remote areas, Spot trackers can text via satellite and you could throw it in a saddle bag.
I would think that radio collars could be used similar to the ones used on hounds. They could be hooked onto tack, or perhaps but around the neck like a cribbing strap.
I’ve got the Tagg GPS device for my dog. You set the boundaries and a message is sent to your phone when the tag has left the boundaries that you set and shows its location within maybe 10 feet or so. We’ve used it at home and also when ‘home’ is our RV. I suppose you could do the same with your trailer.
I would think a cheap way would be a tiny little VHF transmitter, will run for a long time on a battery, a handheld receiver with beam antenna to locate it. The receiver would be the most expensive part. Any ham radio emergency services club would have members who can do radio locating, and would enjoy a little job. Being a ham radio guy myself, I have the radio, an antenna could be stuck together easy with a few parts and wires. A transmitter could be assembled quite easily with a few electronic components. Just a crystal oscillator with timing circuit to make it “chirp”.
But how many trail riders are going to be getting the transmitter and using it?
I got a better idea. How about us all training our horses to stay with us no matter what happens. Marv Walker has some stuff in one of his video’s on that. It’s just an extension of basic round pen work. Using the horses instinctive herd social system mentality to teach them that their safest place is right beside me. So instead of running away from something that scares them, they run to me.
Hi guys,
Its Nicky here from Pod!
It sounds like everyone in the thread is looking for a device to easily track horses!
We at Pod are excited to announce the Pod 3 is now available which sounds like it would be great for you guys.
Pod 3 is the very first customizable GPS tracker which can be used for tracking horses! It has live outdoor tracking with unlimited range in 175 countries and features 4 layers of tracking technologies. You can also set up virtual fences and receive breach alerts to keep tabs on your child on a trail or an escape artist pony!
The Pod 3 features activity tracking as well which will monitor trends in activity and will send alerts when unusual activity is detected. You can also record and share your adventures of your trails, rides, competitions (eventing courses) or general paddock activity with continuous tracking and motion data.
The unique thing about the Pod 3, which you won’t find in any other device, is the modular system. It allows you to customize your unit to suit your needs - light, sound, ultrasonic and XL battery modules are currently available for add-on. It now features 3G connectivity, a reengineered attachment strap and has interchangeable batteries so you never have to worry about your ponies!
See www.podtrackers.com for details and information on how it all works : )
