A Key Element Of The Racehorse
Blog on "A key element of the racehorse"
Water plays a vital role in the health and performance of a horse. In the case of racehorses, they need precise quantities of water at right time. The water consumption for each type of horse is different. A smart centralized IoT system can automatically deliver the right amount of water to the horse and monitor their water intake. Trainers can use data to detect any abnormal consumption and take remedial measures.
Factors affecting water consumption in horses
According to the survey, it is said that an adult horse drinks 20l to 65l every day. The consumption rate is depending on the quantity of food consumed, weather conditions, the intensity of work, the weight of animals, consumption of salt, and location. The drinking speed of a horse varies from 3.5 l/m to 7 l/m.
To make sure your horse is in a healthy condition there should be a sufficient and constant supply of fresh, clean water. Dehydration can complications like a weak body, depression, sunken eyeballs, dry mucous membranes, and an increased heart rate.
To ensure sufficient water for a horse, caretakers should ensure at least 2.5l of water in the waterer with a flow rate of 10l/m or 4.5l in the waterer with a 6l/m flow rate. The surface should be between 21 to 25 cm in diameter to that the horse can easily and quickly access the water.
Factors considered during waterer installation
Since there may be horses of different sizes or different stages of growth on a farm, they’ll need separate waterers for easy access. For a small horse, the bowl should be at a height of 55 cm to 90 cm from the ground and for a big horse, it should be between 100 cm and 120 cm. Most of the waterers should be placed near the corners of the wall to make them easily accessible and reduce the risk of breakage. During the installation of the water line, add a filter so that the drinkers don’t get clogged. A pressure regulator valve will help maintain the correct pressure for its operation.
Wall-mounted drinking bowl
Many caretakers recommend a wall-mounted drink bowl, like the one pictured here. Due to the rounded shape of the bowl and its stand, it will reduce the risk of injury to horses. The large size of the bowl makes the water easily accessible to the horses. It also has anti-freeze capabilities which keep the water from freezing up with an 80w heater. The bowl is also easy to install and maintain.
Blue intelligence system
To improve the performance of horses and their health, La Bavette developed an IoT solution for managing horses’ water consumption. The solution provides real-time water consumption of horses by integrating with their push tube or paddle drinkers. With this data, the system helps identify the health problem of horses before they become apparent. This system consists of a modular combination of several elements as shown in the picture.
Every waterer (La Buvette bowl) has an electronic water counter/flow meter which will measure the water consumption of the horse. With help of solenoid valves, the system will keep the basin topped up all the time. The water consumption data of the horse is passed to a control unit and then to the software module over WiFi through the weather station. The waterer ID, the date and time, the duration and volume of water consumption can be then viewed clearly on a dedicated tablet PC.
In case of any abnormal water consumption in horses, the system will notify the users and activates the warning light on the corresponding bowl. The system will help trainers and health consultants quickly understand the corresponding horse’s health issues in time. So that this technique offers safety comfort and traceability to trainers, riders, as well as breeders of race and sport horses.
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