How Trackener can change the polo world
Both
as players and owners, we are always looking for ways to improve our horses’ performance
(during a game or training), feeding, and healthcare. And we all know how
challenging it can be…
During
a polo game, it is relatively easy to know if a horse is performing well or not
by feeling it in its speed, its turns, its stops, etc... However, if it is performing
poorly, we do not really know the exact reason for this and simply start
speculating. We can decide to increase the level of training, to give the horse
more or less food, to try a new embouchure, etc. But then it’s difficult to evaluate
precisely if the action taken lead to some improvement or not, because of all
the external parameters that have to be taken into consideration. And also
sometimes the evolution is so small that it’s difficult to feel it.
When we have a horse that is injured, we rely entirely
on the visual assessment (and deep knowledge and experience) of our petiseros
and veterinarians to know, first, the severity of the injury and, second, to
know how it is evolving. Petiseros are also essential to identify the main
symptoms of sickness (lack of appetite, unusual restlessness, major behavior
change, etc.) as early as possible so that we limit the consequences for our
horses. And it can be frustrating when we get this feeling that some
information are missing, things are left unexplained, or that we didn’t pay
enough attention to the poor performances of the horse in a previous game…
So,
how can Trackener help us?
By
monitoring precisely the amount of exercise that a horse is having during a
game or training session, it can help us keep the horses in top condition. By
looking at the data in Trackener application, we can have accurate and precise
information about, for example, the duration of the gallop, speed and heart
rate of our horses. In the case of a poor performance of one of our horses, we
will not have to rely solely on our gut feeling, but we will also be able to
evaluate precisely how poor was the performance and at which moment of the game
in particular. Ultimately this will help us determine, through the data in the
application, the true reason why it is underperforming: did anything happen
during the game? Has the horse been overtrained the week before? Trackener
device and app basically help us monitor our horses' progression as a complement to our eyes,
knowledge and of our petiseros. This can
enable us to find the right amount of training and recovery each individual
horse needs so that they can all stay at the top of their fitness level without
experiencing health issues.
By
gathering precise data 24/7, Trackener can also allow us, and our petiseros, to
catch health problems as early as possible. Trackener’s system knows the horse
better than anyone by collecting information about his activity (how much has
the horse walked, trotted or cantered where and when), behaviour (rolling,
lying, sleeping) wherever the horse is. At a simple glance at the Trackener
Life app, we can be able to see if a change is starting to occur, and take some
actions to potentially prevent an upcoming problem. All these insights help us
know the horses always better and be able to see suspicious changes that we
wouldn’t have seen otherwise either because they’re too subtle to be noticed by
simply looking at the horse, or because no one is around when it starts
happening in the case of colic for example.
In
conclusion, in a world where technology and data are increasingly being used in
diverse industries for the best, the horse industry cannot stay behind. It is
time to adapt our traditional customs and to start using more precise tools to
make better decisions for our horses and our sport. I am not saying that we
should leave our current practices (resort to our "feeling" or to the
eye of our petiseros or veterinarians) behind, but I do suggest to complement
them with technology and data that can give us facts about our horses’ changes
in performance, health and behaviour.
Sebastian Rizo Patron, polo player in Lima Polo Club
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