The seasons are changing from Summer to Autumn, the horses coats are changing from their sleek summer coat, transitioning to a velvet, then to their winter woolies. It can be a minefield knowing when to clip your horse, knowing what rug to keep them in. Let me introduce to you: Orscana! The Equestrian industry has not embraced technology at the same pace as other sports, but Orscana takes the hassle out of wondering if the rug you've put on was too light or too heavy - science and technology meets the every day equestrian.
Claire from Arioneo took a few moments to answer a couple of questions about the revolutionary product that takes the mystery out of how comfortable your horse is:
Arioneo is the name of the company – Arion is a talking horse in greek mythology – as we know horses can’t talk but with technology we are able to understand how they are feeling.
Orscana is the care and well being sensor that links to your mobile phone to understand the heat and humidity beneath your horse’s rug so that you can rug according to your horse’s individual requirements. Horses all thermoregulate as individuals as do humans, how they reach their comfort zones not only varies by breed, age, coat type, sex and physical condition but also by horse. Just because one horse on a yard needs a 200g rug does not mean that every other horse does! Over rugging of horses is always a huge topic as we come into autumn, the list of veterinary issues associated is long and varied but by using Orscana, combined with your common sense, your horse can be rugged correctly all year.
In addition Orscana measure the movement of your horse whilst you are not there so you know how long your horse has been lying down, standing calmly, walking or has been disturbed (rolling, kicking, scratching etc).
There's so much more to come - the introduction of technology to care for our horses on a day to day basis has become inevitable in this day and age. With tonnes of benefits, with the most significant being to ensure that our horses are kept comfortable and happy, by using these indicators of wellbeing. Technology at our fingertips has become so readily available that the science is constantly being developed and enhanced:
Orscana is the first product to be available from Arioneo, it has been in the market since October 2016 and has proven itself to work well. I am excited about the next products coming through for 2018. Equimetre is for Performance, the initial product will be for the racing industry, it measures heart rate, distance, speed, interval training and stride patterns but we will then cross it over to the sports horse. In my opinion, Arioneo has technically superior products with a wealth of underlying science behind the products that use patented technology developed especially for the equine athlete.
The data is uploaded from the Orscana device to your smartphone, it works on Android and iPhones. A small unit is attached under the horses rug and tracks their day both in the pasture, in the stable - day and night. Over time the rider/owner will start to realise what is normal for their horse, building up a picture of their behavioural pattern. This allows the rider to make changes to work routines based on data and is particularly useful when away at competitions to see how well a horse is acclimatising to unfamiliar surroundings. The simple changes to a horses life, such as plaiting them up the night before a competition, changing their stable and many other things can be monitored, and some also find a pattern linking behaviour to colic prone horses.
Jessie Kirby uses Orscana on both her dressage horses, Casper and Orlando - the data they've collected over time has allowed them to not only plan their horses routines based on the amount of rest or stress shown, but it also allows them to find direct links between performance and wellbeing. The information can be shared between several different users all using the app, if you wish - Jessie shares the data with their groom, Tom.
Jessie: "I was a bit worried about breaking my routine but actually to have proof from Orscana has given me the confidence I needed to change my routine. I am one of these people that doesn’t like changes but now I have the back-up to know I can actually change it. Orscana has helped a lot.
When I get to a competition the big question is how long is my warm up going to be? I judge now from understanding how Ginge has been the night before. At Sheepgate I adjusted my warm-up, normally it would be 30 to 40 minutes before my first test but I only did 20 minutes and then for my second test I did 10 minutes where routinely it would be 20 minutes. Ginge is 15 now and needs to be looked after. Along with all the training and hard work, Orscana helped me to feel confident to change my warm-up routine and the result is that we won and he is the Sheepgate Under 25 Champion pony!"
Wondering where you can find out more information, or get your hands on this must have piece of technology?
Orscana is available in innovative local tack shops, online with companies such as:
The Equinery www.equinery.co.uk
or direct from Arioneo:
The Orscana retails at £90.