Horse tech: trackener

[DabDab]

Has anyone used one of these? I was sent a promotional email from them and was just curious really: https://www.trackener.com/en/order?...edium=email&utm_campaign=12_december_campaign

 

[Leo Walker]

Its VERY expensive and I'm not sure what benefits it actually provides. I love my Seaver and use it a lot when I'm exercising my horse. I dont need data when shes in her stable or field though.

I'm not sure the website is strictly true either! They say its used and loved all over Europe, yet I was involved when they developed this not so long ago. They wanted people to test the interface and I did. I wasnt particularly impressed then, which is unusual as I love stuff like this!

I can see it being useful for research, but I'm not sure what it brings the average horse owner. If my horse has a hooley in the field when shes supposed to be on field rest, and I'm at work, its not like I can do anything about it, so I'm not sure what the point is of telling me.

 

[Leo Walker]

They have been spamming a lot of people with emails about this, and now I remember where I've seen the name recently, my friend reported them to the ICO for a data breach for emaling her and then lying about where they got her email address from and then refusing to delete her data. Not good!

 

[Petalpoos]

My go-to way of judging all of these type of things is "Is it used on equivalent humans?" i.e., is anyone suggesting you strap this around your children or yourself to monitor their/your lifestyle and make sure you look after them properly?

Thought not

 

[milliepops]

My go-to way of judging all of these type of things is "Is it used on equivalent humans?" i.e., is anyone suggesting you strap this around your children or yourself to monitor their/your lifestyle and make sure you look after them properly?

Thought not

I don't know about this device in particular but periodically I get a hankering for an Orscana...
your logic only works because children can speak to you, whereas your horse can't tell you it was too warm at 2am I am interested to see how much time they spend active in the field or resting etc so I don't see that it does any harm. And heart rate monitors are used by humans in training sometimes

 

[Jinx94]

I know people that have used them and some results have been a little interesting.. I probably wouldn't spend the money because of their experiences

 

[DabDab]

That's interesting LW. I'd never buy one, mainly because I can't abide paying a large amount out for something and then having to keep a monthly subscription up ad infinitum to keep it usable. The whole data thing doesn't sound great either

 

[Winters100]

I have been seriously considering it, but my issue is what happens if the company goes out of business? At that point presumably you have a useless item.

 

[Pauline Trackener]

They have been spamming a lot of people with emails about this, and now I remember where I've seen the name recently, my friend reported them to the ICO for a data breach for emaling her and then lying about where they got her email address from and then refusing to delete her data. Not good!

Hi Leo, When your friend contacted us we removed her email from our list straight away and were transparent with her about where we got her email address from. There has been a misunderstanding apparently.

Regarding the benefits of our product, the testimonials of our customers speak by themselves. We've helped people detect colic episodes and avoid the worst, manage recovery after surgery and various health issues, and also provide peace of mind to owners of healthy horses. Fitbit and other smartwatches have helped people take better care of themselves so why wouldn't we do the same with our horses

 

[Leo Walker]

Hi Leo, When your friend contacted us we removed her email from our list straight away and were transparent with her about where we got her email address from. There has been a misunderstanding apparently.

Regarding the benefits of our product, the testimonials of our customers speak by themselves. We've helped people detect colic episodes and avoid the worst, manage recovery after surgery and various health issues, and also provide peace of mind to owners of healthy horses. Fitbit and other smartwatches have helped people take better care of themselves so why wouldn't we do the same with our horses

Theres been no misunderstanding. She has reported you to the ICO for a data breach.

With regard to the benefits, these are all paid influencers or researchers are they not? Or at the very least, people who got freebies in order to promote it.

 

[Winters100]

I've ordered a Orscana to try and we will see how that is. To be honest I think the functionality of the Trackener is probably better, and the remote access without bluetooth appeals, but for now I find the price point a bit too high given that it will cost 120 GBP pa to use. I had this previously when ordering sat nav collars for the dogs - in the end we went for more pricey ones which allowed us to use our own sim rather than having a subscription - if trackener went along this route we would seriously consider it. Interestingly there is a good option with the Orscana which is to give access to multiple phones and have grooms / other owners send the data when you are not there. By no means perfect, but I think given the Trackener costs 400 GBP plus 10 GBP per month and the Orscana costs 100 euros all in, it is probably a fairly acceptable compromise for what most people need. Of course once everyone is 'off duty' the orscana is not going to send a message that the horse is too hot / too cold, but I always check the forecast so I doubt that the horse would be in such an unsuitable condition that I would need to rush to the stable. Will let you know how the Orscana works.

 

[Pauline Trackener]

I've ordered a Orscana to try and we will see how that is. To be honest I think the functionality of the Trackener is probably better, and the remote access without bluetooth appeals, but for now I find the price point a bit too high given that it will cost 120 GBP pa to use. I had this previously when ordering sat nav collars for the dogs - in the end we went for more pricey ones which allowed us to use our own sim rather than having a subscription - if trackener went along this route we would seriously consider it. Interestingly there is a good option with the Orscana which is to give access to multiple phones and have grooms / other owners send the data when you are not there. By no means perfect, but I think given the Trackener costs 400 GBP plus 10 GBP per month and the Orscana costs 100 euros all in, it is probably a fairly acceptable compromise for what most people need. Of course once everyone is 'off duty' the orscana is not going to send a message that the horse is too hot / too cold, but I always check the forecast so I doubt that the horse would be in such an unsuitable condition that I would need to rush to the stable. Will let you know how the Orscana works.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Our product is much more expensive indeed but provides much more benefits than the Orscana: all the precise information on sleep, activity and heart rate. With the Orscana you cannot see when your horse is not feeling well or even having a colic episode. We created Trackener to save horses from sudden death and improve their lives by being able to detect their pain earlier.
And to your point about having multiple people checking on the horse, this is available with our system too, as we know this is key.
We offer our system on rental if people want to try it before buying as we know this is a lot of money.

 

[Pauline Trackener]

Theres been no misunderstanding. She has reported you to the ICO for a data breach.

With regard to the benefits, these are all paid influencers or researchers are they not? Or at the very least, people who got freebies in order to promote it.

No the testimonials we share on our website or posted on facebook are paying customers. We sometimes offered a free trial but the owners actually provided a testimonial after becoming real customers as they were truly thankful about how much Trackener has helped them with their horses.

 

[Winters100]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Our product is much more expensive indeed but provides much more benefits than the Orscana: all the precise information on sleep, activity and heart rate. With the Orscana you cannot see when your horse is not feeling well or even having a colic episode. We created Trackener to save horses from sudden death and improve their lives by being able to detect their pain earlier.
And to your point about having multiple people checking on the horse, this is available with our system too, as we know this is key.
We offer our system on rental if people want to try it before buying as we know this is a lot of money.

Yes, I do agree that the Trackener appears to be a much more advanced product. I think you know that for people with multiple horses it is quite expensive unless they are really high level animals, which ours are not. That having been said I will continue to try to persuade my other half that just one would be a good investment, and in this case it is going to our 'oldie', my 16 year old mare who is perfect in every way and in my eyes can do no wrong!

 

[Leo Walker]

No the testimonials we share on our website or posted on facebook are paying customers. We sometimes offered a free trial but the owners actually provided a testimonial after becoming real customers as they were truly thankful about how much Trackener has helped them with their horses.

That is very, very dishonest of you to say that!

And can you please elaborate on how your product saves horses from sudden death?

 

[Pauline Trackener]

I don't see how dishonest it is to let some selected people try our product and then share their testimonial once they decide to buy the kit.

Our product sends an alert in real-time if the horse is showing signs of colic (lots of rolling, lying down for too long) and thanks to the information you have access to from anywhere about the heart rate, activity and lying behaviour you can see if the horse is not feeling well or something is suspicious so that you can act as soon as possible and save the horse.

 

[Nasicus]

I don't see how dishonest it is to let some selected people try our product and then share their testimonial once they decide to buy the kit.

Our product sends an alert in real-time if the horse is showing signs of colic (lots of rolling, lying down for too long) and thanks to the information you have access to from anywhere about the heart rate, activity and lying behaviour you can see if the horse is not feeling well or something is suspicious so that you can act as soon as possible and save the horse.

That's not exactly sudden death though, is it? Sudden death means it's sudden, one minute all good, the next BAM. Dead. Like a heart attack, or getting hit by a truck. Preventable Death would be more accurate.

 

[Leo Walker]

No the testimonials we share on our website or posted on facebook are paying customers. We sometimes offered a free trial but the owners actually provided a testimonial after becoming real customers as they were truly thankful about how much Trackener has helped them with their horses.

I don't see how dishonest it is to let some selected people try our product and then share their testimonial once they decide to buy the kit.

I'm just going to check again for clarification. There are no testimonies on your website or facebook page that arent from people who have purchased the kit and then paid the ongoing subscription for your product? None whatsoever? and there never have been? ??