Why You Need NIGHTWATCH® — Even if Your Horse Lives in Your Backyard
Could there be anything better than sipping your morning coffee and watching your own horses graze in the backyard as the sun rises? We don’t think so. It’s safe to say it’s a shared and common dream in the equestrian world to be able to look out a window and see their horse happily living near their house on their property.
Even though a backyard stable is the dream, it’s not for the faint of heart and requires a lot of work. Keeping one horse, let alone a herd of horses fed, maintained, and healthy is no easy task and highlights a major difference between a boarding facility and your backyard — there’s significantly less supervision, meaning you’re solely responsible for your horses and their wellbeing, on top of everything else that comes with running a barn. Although in close proximity, it’s impossible to keep an eye on your horses at all times and remain vigilant to all changes in behaviors and signs of illness, which can happen quickly.
Benjamin Franklin once said, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” NIGHTWATCH® is our triple-stitched, all-natural leather ounce of prevention. Its technology can alert you to any early signs of distress, which can indicate serious issues such as colic or being cast, occurrences which often happen at night. Although having your horse in eye sight of your kitchen window can feel more secure and like you have more control with your horse less than 50 feet away, owners shouldn’t let their guard down and should always exercise as much caution and supervision as possible, just like they would at a boarding facility.
As a breakaway halter, it’s a product that’s a good fit for all types of horses, from yearlings to broodmares, from stallions to seniors — and doesn’t discriminate when it comes to disciplines or riding styles. All ~2 ounces of electronics (sensors, batteries) are non-invasively embedded within the padded leather crown of each halter making NIGHTWATCH® safe and comfortable for long-term use in a variety of conditions. Thanks to being made of 100% natural, handcrafted leather the halter will break away under force so it’s safe to be left on overnight in a stall or the pasture. If you have an escape artist or troublemaker on your hands, the location of your horse can be pinpointed within the US or Canada via the halter’s embedded GPS technology.
Although you can’t keep an eye on your horse every waking minute, outfitting NIGHTWATCH® to your herd can make all the difference in an emergency. NIGHTWATCH® uses a variety of sensors to collect real-time data on your horse’s vital signs and behaviors, while advanced computational software analyzes this data and calculates a quantifiable measure of their relative distress (ie, EDI® score) on a 10-point scale. When a user-defined threshold of distress is breached, NIGHTWATCH® will alert you via text, call, and email so you can intervene sooner.
Traveling out of town and have a barn sitter? No problem. In case of emergency, NIGHTWATCH® can alert up to 4 different people if distress is detected in an individual horse, so you and the sitter will be notified of any changes at the same time. If you just wanted to check-in, as long as you have WiFi connection or cellular coverage, you can check in on your horse’s real-time or historical stats at any time. NIGHTWATCH® is right there when you can’t be, whether you’re out of state or in your kitchen 50 feet away.