GB2611577A

GB2611577A - An equine training system

Info

Publication number: GB2611577A
Application number: GB2114485.2A
Authority: GB
Inventors: James Barry Mark
Original assignee: Equetronic Ltd
Current assignee: Equetronic Ltd
Priority date: 2021-10-11
Filing date: 2021-10-11
Publication date: 2023-04-12
Also published as: GB202114485D0

Abstract

An equine training system comprises a controller device 14 and a heart rate monitor 12. The controller comprises an RFID reader which reads RFID data from an RFID tag 10 embedded in an animal 1; a receiver which connects to the pulse sensor and receives the heartbeat data; and wireless transmitter which streams the heart rate and RFID data to a remote Internet server in real-time. The invention further envisages an equine training system further including a saddle pad 5 having a mount adjacent its lower edge for the housing of the controller, where the heart rate sensor includes a housing which can be mounted onto a girth 7. The invention also envisages an internet server configured to receive a stream of equine training data comprising cardiac and RFID information in real-time; associate the information with a particular animal based on the radio frequency identification data; and stream in real-time the data to a user device of a user having an account linked with the specific animal.

Description

AN EQUINE TRAINING SYSTEM

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an equine training system that is configured to provide equine heart rate data.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Equine animals, for example horses, require training to perform the tasks that human riders ask of them. Human riders also often require training in how to achieve the best results from the animals that they ride. There is a large market for activities such as horseracing and show jumping, and a strong desire for both animals and riders to perform at their maximum levels.

One of the key parameters that is useful during training is the heart rate of the animal. This can be used to monitor how the animal reacts to training stimulus, how hard the animal is working, and whether the animal is more or less stressed in a general sense from day-to-day.

International patent publication WO 2007/088352 Al discloses a wireless equine heart rate monitor which allows a rider to view the heart rate of the animal that they are riding on their wrist. This is helpful, although requires the rider to regularly look at the monitor which is undesirable whilst on the horse, and viewing heart rate data after the event when it is too late to take much action in response may not be particularly helpful. Equine animals have a strong flight-or-fight response to stimulus, and accordingly a heart rate which can fluctuate much more quickly than that of humans. This makes equine heart rate more difficult to track.

Wireless equine heart rate monitors are also difficult to realise in practice, with multiple sources of interference which can be difficult to filter out from a rapidly fluctuating heart rate signal. The Applicant has found that the faster the animal travels, the more likely that the wireless transmission is to fail, possibly due to a combination of a quickly fluctuating heart rate and fast relative moments between transmitters and receivers giving fluctuating signal strengths. There is also a need for the equine heart rate monitor to be physically small, to reduce the chances of it being accidentally kicked, or knocked off or out of position during use.

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide an improved equine training system.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to a one aspect of the invention, there is provided an equine training system comprising a controller device and an equine heart rate monitor configured to provide equine heart rate data. The controller device comprises a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) reader that is configured to read RFID data from an RFID tag embedded in an equine animal; a receiver configured to connect to the equine heart rate monitor and receive the equine heart rate data; and wireless transmitter configured to stream the equine heart rate data along with the RFID data to a remote Internet server in real-time.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided an Internet server configured to receive a stream of equine training data in real-time from an equine training system, the equine training data comprising equine heart rate data and RFID data. The Internet server is further configured to associate the equine training data with a particular equine animal based on the RFID data; and stream in real-time the equine heart rate data to a user device of a user having an account associated with the particular equine animal.

Since the equine heart rate data is streamed to the Internet server in real-time, it can be viewed immediately by a remote user, at substantially the same time as the data is being gathered from the equine animal. The user, such as specialist horse trainer, may provide immediate advice and/or feedback based on the heart rate to the rider or to other persons involved in the handling of the equine animal. The use of an Internet server allows long distance transmission, and means the user may be located in an entirely different country to the equine animal. Since the equine heart rate data is sent with the RFID data, the Internet server is able to identify which animal the heart rate data relates to, and route the stream of equine heart rate data to user devices(s) of the correct user(s).

The equine heart rate monitor and the control device are preferably physically separate devices from one another, enabling the equine heart rate monitor to have a small size which can be fitted against the animal with minimal risk of being hit or knocked out of position. The controller device may comprise a housing which houses the RFID reader, receiver and wireless transmitter.

The RFID reader is of a type configured to read embedded equine RFID tags, and as such has a higher power than many conventional RFID readers since equine RFID tags are embedded relatively deeply into the animal and require high power signals to reach.

When the receiver is a wireless receiver, which is advantageous to avoid trailing wires and physical connections between the controller device and the equine heart rate monitor, there is a need to ensure the wireless connection between the equine heart rate monitor and the wireless receiver does not fail when the animal beings to move quickly. The antennas of the wireless receiver and the equine heart rate monitor are preferably both omnidirectional antennas so that the wireless signal strength remains substantially constant even as the equine heart rate monitor and the controller device move relative to one another as the animal moves.

The equine heart rate monitor may comprise a housing which houses both a heart rate sensor and an antenna, the antenna for wirelessly transmitting the equine heart rate data to the receiver. To prevent the equine heart rate monitor from being knocked or moved out of position, the housing of the equine heart rate monitor may adapted to mount onto a girth of a tack equipment with both the sensor and the antenna of the equine heart rate monitor positioned intermediate of the girth and the equine animal's skin. Accordingly, the main bulk of the equine heart rate monitor may be held between the girth and the animal, the girth keeping the equine heart rate monitor securely in position and shielding it from being hit or knocked externally.

The equine training system may comprise a saddle pad with a mount for mounting the controller device adjacent the lowermost edge of the saddle pad. This positions the controller device in a fixed position which is close to the beating heart of the equine animal, and is therefore close to the equine heart rate monitor, improving wireless communications between the controller device and the equine heart rate monitor. The mount of the saddle pad is preferably a pocket which is sized and shaped to securely hold the controller device in position, preventing the controller device from moving around inside of the pocket. The mount of the saddle pad may be positioned in a hindmost region of the saddle pad which is towards the hind legs of the animal and so is out of the way of the rider's legs, and less likely to be struck by the rider.

The wireless receiver is adapted for short-range wireless communications with the equine heart rate monitor, for example via Bluetoothe, and the wireless transmitter is adapted for longer range wireless communications, for example via WiFie or a cellular telecommunications network. The short-range wireless communication of the wireless receiver means the wireless receiver can simply connect to the closest one of multiple equine heart rate monitors, without needing to be reconfigured by the user. Then multiple animals may be fitted with equine heart rate monitors, and a single controller device moved between the animals to gather data as and when needed, with the wireless receiver automatically connecting to the equine heart rate monitor of the intended animal. Preferably, the wireless receiver is configured to automatically select and connect to the equine heart rate monitor in closest proximity to the wireless receiver based on a Received Signal Strength Indicator, RSSI.

To enable communications between a user viewing the real-time equine heart rate data and the rider of the animal, the controller device may further comprise a wireless transceiver configured to send and receive audio communications to a wireless headset of a rider of the equine animal. The wireless transceiver may be a short-range wireless transceiver, such as a Bluetooth® receiver, and the wireless transceiver may be connected to the wireless transmitter, the wireless transmitter adapted to send and receive the voice communications between the rider and the Internet server. Accordingly, the wireless transmitter may have the capability to receive communications as well as transmit them. The user, such as a trainer, may send and receive the audio communications via the Internet server and therefore speak to the rider whilst the rider is riding the animal to provide advice and/or feedback on the state of the animal in real-time.

The controller device may also comprise an accelerometer and the wireless transmitter may be configured to stream data from the accelerometer to the Internet server in real-time along with the equine heart rate data. The data from the accelerometer may be used to discern various characteristics such as how many steps the animal is taking and/or how the animal is moving.

The controller device may include a processor that interconnects the various devices of the controller device together, however those various devices may alternatively include sufficient processing capability to be connected directly to one another without any need for a dedicated processor.

The equine training system may comprise at least one video camera housed separately from the controller device and configured to send a video stream to the Internet server in real-time, and therefore in synchronism with the equine heart rate data. The video stream may include images of the animal being ridden by the rider, and a user can therefore view the video stream together with the stream of equine heart rate data in real-time, to better understand how the animal is reacting to training. Typically, the video camera will have a transceiver providing a separate connection to the Internet server, for example via a VViFiC) or cellular communications network, and so the video stream may be sent along with some identifying information such as user account information and/or the geographic location of the video camera.

The controller device may also comprise a Global Navigation Satellite System, GNSS, receiver configured to repeatedly determine a position of the controller device. The wireless transmitter may be configured to stream the determined positions to the remote Internet server in real-time, and therefore in synchronism with the equine heart rate data. The determined positions may be used to calculate the speed of the animal, and/or may be used to select between different video streams to determine the video stream which may include images of the animal.

The equine training system may comprise an anemometer configured to sense wind data, preferably both wind speed and wind direction. The anemometer is housed separately from the controller device and configured to stream the sensed wind data to the Internet server in real-time, and therefore in synchronism with the equine heart rate data. The anemometer may have a transceiver providing a separate connection to the Internet server, for example via a VViFi® or cellular communications network, and so the stream of sensed wind data may be sent along with some identifying information such as user account information and/or the geographic location of the anemometer. The Internet server may be configured to determine a windspeed relative to the frame of reference of the animal by comparing the wind speed and wind direction of the sensed wind data relative to the changing position of the animal as measured by the stream of determined positions sent to the Internet server from the GNSS receiver of the controller device.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention there is provided a method for remote viewing of equine training data in real-time, comprising providing the equine training system and Internet server disclosed herein, fitting the equine training system to an equine animal, streaming the equine training data to the Internet server, and streaming the equine heart rate data to a user device of a user having an account associated with the equine animal. The user is therefore able to monitor the state of the animal in real-time, i.e. substantially instantaneously, at the same time as the animal is in that state.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of non-limiting example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 shows a schematic diagram of an equine training system according to an embodiment of the invention fitted to an equine animal; Fig. 2 shows a schematic diagram of the equine training system in use when the animal is being ridden by a rider; Fig. 3 shows a schematic block diagram of the equine training system in communication with an Internet server and user device; Fig. 4 shows a flow diagram of a method of using the equine training system; and Fig. 5 shows a flow diagram of a method of communication between the user device and the Internet server.

The figures are not to scale, and same or similar reference signs denote same or similar features.

The schematic diagram of Fig 1 shows an equine animal 1, in this example a horse. The horse 1 has an RFID tag 10, also known as an RFID chip, embedded within its neck. The RFID tag stores information that can be used to identify the particular animal 1, the information being readable by an equine RFID tag reader, as is known in the art. The horse 1 has been equipped with a saddle 3, and a saddle pad 5 and girth 7 for stabilising the saddle on the horse, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Other parts of normal tack equipment such as bridles have been omitted from the figures for the sake of clarity.

In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, the saddlepad 5 is equipped with a pocket 6 which may be sized and shaped to securely hold a controller device 14 inside the pocket. Furthermore, an equine head rate monitor 12 is mounted between the girth 7 and the skin of the horse. The equine heart rate monitor 12 may have a low profile to allow it to fit between the girth and the horse, with electrodes positioned on one side and hooks positioned on an opposite side for attaching the equine heart rate monitor to the girth. The controller device 14 is configured to wirelessly connect to the equine head rate monitor 12 for receiving equine heart rate data.

The pocket 6 of the saddlepad may be formed in a hindmost region of the saddle pad which is adjacent the lowermost edge of the saddle pad, thereby positioning the controller device 14 close to the beating heart of the equine animal, and therefore close to the equine heart rate monitor 12, as shown in Fig.1. The positioning of the pocket 6 towards the rear of the horse, i.e. in a hindmost region, keeps the pocket 6 away from the legs of the rider. Clearly, in alternate embodiments it would be possible to use an alternative means of mounting the controller device 14 to the saddle pad 5 instead of the pocket 6, for example by using straps, or the controller device 14 could even be placed in a pocket of the riders clothing. However, this typically results in a less stable wireless connection between the equine heart rate monitor 12 and the controller device 14 due to the increased distance and increased relative movements that occur between them.

The schematic diagram of Fig. 2 shows the equine training system when in use. The horse 1 is being ridden by a rider 100 within a training area, generally designated as 50. The equine training system may include one or more video cameras, for example video cameras 21a and 21b, placed around or within the training area, and may also include an anemometer 22 for recording windspeed and/or wind direction. In this embodiment the video cameras 21a and 21b are positioned on pillars 20a and 20b, however could be held or positioned by any other convenient means suitable for recording video of the rider whist riding the horse.

The rider 100 may wear a Bluetooth0 headset 16, enabling the rider to speak to a remote user whilst riding the horse. The remote user may be a specialist trainer, providing advice to the rider 100 on how to ride, based on the equine heart rate data and possibly the video from the cameras 21a or 21b.

The schematic diagram of Fig. 3 shows the equine training system in communication with an Internet server and user device. As shown, the equine training system may comprise the headset 16, equine heart rate monitor 12, controller device 14, video camera 21 (which may be 21a or 21b), Anemometer 22, and WiFi® / LTE® router 180.

The controller device 14 may comprise a housing 14a shaped to fit the pocket 6 of the saddlepad, and various internal components including a processor 145 which is connected to a receiver 141, equine RFID reader 142, GNSS receiver 143, pedometer 144, transmitter 146, and memory 147. The processor 145 is, for example, a single board computer which regulates the flow of data through the controller device 14. The receiver 141 is preferably a short-range wireless receiver, and may be implemented as a Bluetooth® transceiver for wirelessly connecting to the equine heart rate monitor 12. The receiver 141 may comprise an omnidirectional antenna for receiving the equine heart rate data. Since there may be multiple equine heart rate monitors 12 within the nearby vicinity, the receiver 141 is configured to connect to the equine heart rate monitor that has the highest signal strength, which should be the equine heart rate monitor that is fitted to the animal 1. The equine RFID reader 142 is configured to wirelessly read RFID data from the RFID chip 10 embedded in the horse, in the manner commonly known in the art, and pass the RFID data to the processor 145.

The GNSS receiver 143 may be able to read and interpret satellite navigation signals such as GPS, Galileo, Glonass, etc., in order to provide a geographical position of the controller device 14 and therefore of the horse 1. The location is passed to the processor 145. A pedometer 144 comprises accelerometers which are used to determine the number of steps taken by the horse 1, and the step count is provided to the processor 145. The transmitter 146 may be a VViFie or cellular network transmitter that is configured to transmit data to an Internet server 185, via a local WiFi0 router or LTEO base-station 180. The transmitter 146 may enable longer range wireless communications than the receiver 141, and so can be used as a central point of contact between the controller device and the Internet server. The memory 147 may be used for buffering, or to store historical data collected by the processor 145.

The equine heart rate monitor 12 may have a housing 12a having a low profile so that it that securely fits between the girth 7 and the animal 1 without causing discomfort to the animal. One side of the housing 12a has electrodes for sensing the heart beats of the animal and the other side of the housing 12a has hooks for interfacing with the inner side of the girth, to keep the housing 12a securely in place. Inside the housing, there is a heart rate sensor 121 including the electrodes and a Bluetooth® transceiver 122 for wirelessly transmitting the data from the sensor to the receiver 141. The Bluetooth® transceiver 122 has an omnidirectional antenna to help stabilise the strength of the wireless connection to the receiver 141 even if some relative moment between the transceiver 122 and receiver 141 occurs.

The headset 16 comprises a microphone 161 and speakers 162 connected to a Bluetooth® transceiver 163 for sending and receiving audio streams from and to the microphone and speakers. The Bluetooth® transceiver 163 wirelessly connects to the receiver 141 of the controller device 14.

The video camera 21 comprises a VViFi0 transceiver 211, a position element 212, and a camera 213. The video camera 21 is wirelessly connected to the local WiFi® router 180 via the WiFi0 transceiver 211, for streaming video to the Internet server 185 in real time. The stream of video may be sent to the Internet server with data indicating the position of the video camera, which may be based on the position element 212. The position element 212 may be a GNSS receiver, or it may simply be a memory storing a pre-programmed location of the video camera 21 within the training area 50, or storing a location determined with reference to the network address that the camera is connected to.

The anemometer 22 comprises a WiFi0 transceiver 221, a position element 222, and a windspeed and wind direction sensor 223. The anemometer 22 is wirelessly connected to the local WiFie router 180 via the WiFie transceiver 221, for streaming wind data to the Internet server 185 in real time. The stream of wind data may be sent to the Internet server with data indicating the position of the video camera, which may be based on the position element 222. The position element 222 may be a GNSS receiver, or it may simply be a memory storing a pre-programmed location of the anemometer 22, or storing a location determined with reference to the network address that the anemometer is connected to.

The hardware forming the Internet server 185 is conventional and typically comprises one or more processors and one or more memories, which are then programmed and configured in accordance with the invention. The Internet server 185 may be connected to multiple WiFie routers and/or LTE® base-stations 180 providing streams of equine heart rate data from multiple ones of the equine training system at different locations to one another. Furthermore, the one or more memories of the Internet server may store a database of horses and a database of associated user accounts linked to the horses, the horses identified by the data stored on their RFID tags. The Internet server 185 may be connected to a weather data server 170, which provides a feed of current weather data to the Internet server. The connection 171 may span various networks between the weather data server 170 and the Internet server 185. The Internet server 185 is also connected to multiple user devices 150 of users, which users use to log into corresponding user accounts on the Internet server 185. The user devices may for example be smartphones, tablets, laptops, desktop computers, etc. The connection 151 may span various networks between each user device 150 and the Internet server 185, depending on the method of connection of the user device 150 to the Internet.

The flow diagram of Fig. 4 shows a method of using the equine training system. In a step 410, the rider may fit the equine heart rate monitor 12 to the girth 7 of the animal. The equine heart rate monitor 12 is placed fully between the girth and the animal, so that there are no parts protruding externally of the girth and no risk of them being accidentally hit. The housing 12a of the equine heart rate monitor 12 has electrodes on one side that contact the skin of the animal, and small hooks on an opposite side that hook into the soft material of the girth to hold the equine heart rate monitor 12 in place, in the manner of a hook-and-loop fastener.

In a step 420, the rider may pick up the controller device housing 14a and move the controller device adjacent the RFID tag 10 that is embedded in the neck of the animal. The controller device preferably emits a sound to indicate the RFID information has been read and stored in the memory 147. It will be appreciated that the steps 410 and 420 could be done in reverse order if desired.

Next in a step 430, the housing 14a of the controller device may be slid into the pocket 6 of the saddle pad 5, where it is securely within the pocket 6. The pocket 6 is preferably just the right size to accommodate the housing 14a, so that it is held securely, and may have a zip closure to ensure the controller device cannot accidentally come out of the pocket. The step 430 could be implemented before the step 410 if the user desired, but typically not before the step 420.

In a step 440, the controller device 14 may detect the equine heart rate monitor 12 as the heart rate monitor having the strongest signal strength (since it is the closest heart rate monitor), and therefore pair with the equine heart rate monitor 12 via the Bluetooth0 transceivers 122 and 141. Step 140 typically takes place when the controller device 14 and the equine heart rate monitor 12 are brought into close proximity with one another, for example when the heart rate monitor 12 is mounted to the girth 7 and the controller device 14 is slid into the pocket 6 of the saddle pad 5.

The step 440 may also comprise pairing the Bluetooth0 transceiver 163 of the headset 16 to the Bluetoothe transceiver 141 of the controller device, enabling the controller device to relay audio streams to and from the headset 16.

In a step 450, the controller device 14 may connect to the Internet Server 185 via the WIFIO transmitter 146 and WIFIO router 180. Alternatively, the controller device 14 may comprise a cellular telecommunications network transmitter which may connect to the Internet Server 185 via a cellular telecommunications network base-station. Once the connection to the connection to the Internet server 185 has been established, the controller device 14 transmits the RFID tag information that was read from the RFID tag 10 on the animal to the Internet server 185. The Internet server determines a user account associated with the RFID tag information, and records the relevant animal as currently "live" within the system, and therefore available to view when the user of that user account logs into the Internet server.

In a step 460, the controller device 14 may begin real-time streaming of the equine heart rate data received at the receiver 141 to the remote Internet server 185, via the WIFIO transceivers 146 and 180. Since the heart rate data is streamed from the controller device 14 in real-time there is preferably less than a 5 second delay between the sensing of a beat of the animal's heart by the equine heart rate monitor 12 and the receipt of the equine heart rate data based at least partially on that sensed beat at the remote internet server 185. More preferably, there is less than a 1 second delay.

The step 460 may also comprise streaming further data to the internet server 185, in addition to the equine heart rate data, and in synchronism therewith. The GNSS receiver 143 may stream the position of the controller device (and therefore the position of the animal) to the internet server 185 via the transmitter 146 and WiFie router 180. The pedometer 144 may stream the step count to the internet server 185 via the transmitter 146 and WiFie router 180. These various streams are all received at the Internet server 185 in synchronism with one another, and can be used to build a detailed assessment of how the animal is performing. The streams are preferably made immediately available to users for viewing on the user devices 150, and the streams may also be recorded in a memory of the Internet server for viewing again at later time(s).

The controller device 14 may also stream audio to and from the headset 16, between the headset 16 and the Internet server 185, allowing voice communications between the rider 100 of the animal and a user that connects to the Internet server 185 with the user device 150.

Should the WiFi0 transmitter 146 fail to connect to the Internet server 185 for any reason, then the processor 145 of the controller device 14 may store the data to be streamed in the memory 147, so that the data can be retrieved at a later time, albeit not in real time anymore.

The flow diagram of Fig. 5 shows a method of communication between the user device 150 and the Internet server 185. In this example, the user device 150 is a laptop computer, owned by a trainer of the rider 100, in a different country to the rider 100. In a step 510 the trainer may log into the Internet server 185 using their laptop computer 150, via one or more intermediate networks 151. The trainer may supply a username and password, allowing the trainer to log into an account of theirs which is linked to the RFID tag information of one or more equine animals.

In a step 520, the laptop computer 150 may receive from the Internet server 185 a list of the animals associated with the account, and display the list, preferably together with indicators of which animals are currently "live" and therefore have a controller device 14 and equine heart rate monitor 12 fitted to them. The trainer then selects a desired animal to view, either an animal with a "live" indicator so that live data can be viewed, or another animal if the trainer wishes to view historical data. In this example, the trainer selects one of the "live" animals, and the method proceeds to step 530.

In a step 530, the Internet server 185 may receive the stream of equine heart rate data, the stream of pedometer data, the stream of GNSS location data, and the stream of audio data all in real-time from the controller device 14. In addition to those streams, the Internet server 185 may also receive streams of video data from the video cameras 21 (21a and 21b) together with the positions of those cameras, and a stream of wind data from the anemometer 22 along with the position of the anemometer. The streams from the video cameras and anemometers are linked to the trainer's account and therefore available for the trainer to view when desired.

In a step 540, the Internet server calculates the current speed of the animal based on the stream of GNSS locations, and the speed together with the stream of equine heart rate data is forwarded to the laptop computer 150 for display in a step 550. A chart of the speed and/or heart rate data may be displayed on the laptop computer 150 in a step 560, and the position of the animal may be displayed on a map or shown as a list of locations in a table in step 570, before looping back to step 530 to receive further data of the streams.

Whilst viewing the real-time data, the trainer may determine that the rider 100 is riding too quickly or too slowly, and speak into a microphone of the laptop computer 150 to provide audible instructions to the rider 100 on how to modify their riding. The laptop computer 150 may stream the audio to the Internet server, which forwards the stream of audio to the controller device 14, where it is transferred to the headset 16 and heard by the rider 100 through speakers 162. The rider 100 may speak a reply into the microphone 161, which is streamed back to the trainer's laptop computer 150 via the same route and played to the trainer.

The data displayed by the laptop computer may also include a video stream of the animal being ridden, and/or wind data showing the present wind speed and wind direction. The Internet server 185 is aware of the location of the animal based on the stream of GNSS data, and selects a video stream based on the position information sent with each video stream, such that the selected video stream should include images of the animal. The Internet server 185 also selects the stream of wind data from the anemometer 22, based on the position of the anemometer. The video stream and the stream of wind data when displayed on the laptop computer 150 in synchronism with the stream of equine heart rate data helps the trainer understand how the animal and the rider 100 are performing. The Internet server may perform a calculation of the wind speed felt by the animal, i.e. taking the animal as the frame of reference. For example, if the GNSS data indicated the animal is moving at 30 kph in a southerly direction, and the wind data indicates the prevailing wind is 10 kph from the south, then the Internet server may determine the animal is experiencing a windspeed of 40 kph, and send this for display on the laptop computer 150.

The Internet server 185 may also send recent weather data from the weather data server 170, at the location indicated by the GNSS data, to the laptop computer 150 for display. For example, if the weather data indicates there was heavy rain recently, then the trainer may infer the ground is likely to be very soft.

Many other variations of the described embodiments falling within the scope of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

Claims

CLAIMS1. An equine training system, comprising a controller device and an equine heart rate monitor configured to provide equine heart rate data, wherein the controller device comprises: an RFID reader configured to read RFID data from an RFID tag embedded in an equine animal; a receiver configured to connect to the equine heart rate monitor and receive the equine heart rate data; and a wireless transmitter configured to stream the equine heart rate data along with the RFID data to a remote Internet server in real-time.
2. The equine training system of claim 1, wherein the controller device comprises a housing which houses the RFID reader, receiver and wireless transmitter.
3 The equine training system of claim 1 or 2, wherein the receiver is a wireless receiver comprising an antenna, preferably an omnidirectional antenna.
4. The equine training system of claim 3, wherein the equine heart rate monitor comprises a housing which houses both a heart rate sensor and an antenna, the antenna for transmitting the equine heart rate data to the wireless receiver.
5. The equine training system of claim 4, wherein the housing of the equine heart rate monitor is adapted to mount onto a girth of a tack equipment with both the sensor and the antenna of the equine heart rate monitor positioned intermediate of the girth and the equine animal's skin.
6. The equine training system of claim 4 or 5, wherein the antenna of the equine heart rate monitor is an omnidirectional antenna.
7. The equine training system of any preceding claim, further comprising a saddle pad with a mount for mounting the controller device adjacent a lowermost edge of the saddle pad, preferably in a hindmost region of the saddle pad.
8. The equine training system of any preceding claim, wherein the receiver is a wireless receiver and the wireless transmitter is adapted to handle longer range communication links than the wireless receiver.
9. The equine training system of any preceding claim, wherein the controller device comprises a wireless transceiver configured to send and receive audio communications to a wireless headset of a rider of the equine animal, wherein the wireless transmitter is adapted to handle longer range communication links than the wireless transceiver.
10. The equine training system of claim 9, wherein the wireless transmitter is configured to receive a real-time audio stream from a reviewer of the equine heart rate data via the Internet server, the wireless transceiver configured to forward the audio stream to the wireless headset.
11. The equine training system of any preceding claim, wherein the receiver is a wireless receiver configured to automatically select and connect to the equine heart rate monitor in closest proximity to the wireless receiver based on a Received Signal Strength Indicator, RSSI.
12. The equine training system of any preceding claim, wherein the controller device comprises an accelerometer and the wireless transmitter is configured to stream data from the accelerometer to the Internet server in real-time along with the equine heart rate data.
13. The equine training system of any preceding claim, wherein the controller device comprises a Global Navigation Satellite System, GNSS, receiver configured to repeatedly determine a position of the controller device, wherein the wireless transmitter is configured to stream the determined positions to the remote Internet server in real-time, and therefore in synchronism with the equine heart rate data.
14. The equine training system of any preceding claim, further comprising at least one video camera housed separately from the controller device and configured to send a video stream to the Internet server in real-time, and therefore in synchronism with the equine heart rate data.
15. The equine training system of claim 14, wherein the video camera is configured to transmit a location of the video camera to the Internet server.
16. The equine training system of any preceding claim, further comprising an anemometer configured to sense wind data, the anemometer housed separately from the controller device and configured to stream the sensed wind data to the Internet server in real-time, and therefore in synchronism with the equine heart rate data.
17. An equine training system, comprising a controller device, an equine heart rate monitor configured to provide equine heart rate data, and a saddle pad, wherein the controller device comprises: an RFID reader configured to read RFID data from an RFID tag embedded in an equine animal; a wireless receiver configured to connect to the equine heart rate monitor and receive the equine heart rate data wirelessly; a wireless transmitter configured to send the equine heart rate data along with the RFID data; and a housing that houses the RFID reader, wireless receiver and wireless transmitter, wherein the saddle pad comprises a mount for mounting the housing of the controller device adjacent a lowermost edge of the saddle pad, wherein the equine heart rate monitor comprises a housing adapted to mount onto a girth of a tack equipment, and wherein the equine training system is optionally in accordance with any one of the preceding claims.
18. An Internet server configured to: receive a stream of equine training data in real-time from an equine training system, the equine training data comprising equine heart rate data and RFID data; associate the equine training data with a particular equine animal based on the RFID data; and stream in real-time the equine heart rate data to a user device of a user having an account associated with the particular equine animal.
19. The Internet server of claim 18, configured to receive an audio stream in real-time from the user and to send the audio stream in real-time to a controller device of the equine training system.
20. The Internet server of claim 18 or 19, configured to receive a video stream of the equine animal in real-time and forward the video stream to the user device for viewing in real-time together with the equine heart rate data.
21. The Internet server of claim 20, wherein the stream of equine training data comprises a stream of determined locations of the equine animal, and wherein the Internet server is configured to select the video stream from a plurality of video streams based on the determined location that is currently reported by the stream of determined locations.
22. The Internet server of claim 21, wherein the plurality of video streams each comprise a location of a video camera recording the corresponding video stream, and wherein the selection of the video stream is further based on a comparison between the location of the camera corresponding to the video stream and the determined location that is currently reported by the stream of determined locations.
23. The Internet server of any one of claims 18 to 22, comprising a memory configured to store past streams of equine training data optionally together with a video stream of the equine animal for review by the user at a later time.
24. A system comprising the equine training system of any one of claims 1 to 17 and the Internet server of any one of claims 18 to 23.
25. A method for remote viewing of equine training data in real-time, comprising providing the system of claim 24, fitting the equine training system to an equine animal, streaming the equine training data to the Internet server, and streaming the equine heart rate data to a user device of a user having an account associated with the equine animal.