Elise Annereau 15 July 2022In collaboration with Cheval Liberté and Cheval Assur
Horse stall safety
Even before welcoming your horse, it’s essential to think carefully about the design of its accommodation. The quality of the materials and the design of the products that make up your installations play a major role in the safety of your horse when it’s in its stall, shelter or stable. Cheval Liberté makes it a point of honor to design products and offer stable equipment that guarantee your horse’s safety at all times.
For example, the upper parts of stall fronts and partitions Cheval Liberté are fitted with a round tube rather than a U-shaped rail, so there are no sharp edges and no risk if a horse rears up or tries to climb over.
Furthermore, if you’re a breeder or have stallions in your stable, choosing a “Stud” height higher than standard heights , on your partitions and facades will guarantee trouble-free accommodation.
Accessories such as Equigomma tiles can also be useful both in the stalls and in other areas of the stable: grooming area, shower, corridor. These tiles absorb shocks and prevent falls thanks to their anti-slip properties.
Once your horse has arrived, we strongly advise you to equip his stall with a monitoring solution like the one offered by Coho.
Coho is a connected camera to be placed in the horse’s stall or meadow shelter. It is equipped with Artificial Intelligence that takes a photo of the box or shelter once every thirty seconds and analyzes it. In this way, abnormal behavior can be detected instantly. More precisely, Coho analyzes the horse’s position (upright, lateral recumbent, ventral recumbent) thanks to its Artificial Intelligence algorithm developed by collecting over a million photos of horses. It warns the owner when the horse is lying down for too long, or alternates between standing and lying down too frequently. This is because these behaviours are “abnormal” and potentially symptomatic of illnesses such as colic or ulcers.
The specific case of colic
Of all the possible risks and accidents, colic is precisely the one most feared by equine owners. When detected and treated promptly, colic is generally easily cured. However, if this is not the case, the consequences can be terrible, even dramatic. So, if colic occurs early in the night, it is often and unfortunately not detected until the following morning, which is very late…
If colic is not caught in time, it can worsen and put your horse’s life in danger, so every minute counts… Moreover, surgery is a costly affair: expect to pay an average of €5,000 for this type of expense. Visit Cheval Assur 5 veterinary expense formulas provide reimbursement for colic surgery, with a ceiling of up to €7,000.
But before you have to treat, the solution Coho solution can help you prevent such risks. Although you won’t be able to reduce the risk of colic, it will help you detect abnormal behavior more quickly.
Coho is not intended as a veterinary diagnostic tool. But if at the start of the night a horse stays down longer than he’s used to, the app will send an alert to the owner. It’s then up to him to connect to the camera and judge the situation, to see if the horse is colicky or not. If this is the case, he can then intervene quickly, i.e. notify the vet, and get the horse up and walking while waiting for the health professional. Thanks to Coho, colic will have been detected thanks to the abnormal behaviors associated with it, and treated quickly by the vet, avoiding possible complications if it had only been detected in the early hours of the morning.
Veterinary consultations, travel expenses, medication… all care that can quickly add up and that can be covered by your insurance contract with Cheval Assur !
With or without a deductible, we can cover most or all of your veterinary claims. It’s up to you to tailor your contract to your needs and budget.
Stress-free travel
Another major concern for equine owners is the safety of their horses when travelling to competitions and elsewhere.
Transportation can be a source of concern for both horse and owner. For trouble-free travel, the safety features of the Cheval Liberté vans such as brakes, suspension, wheels and accessories are approved and constantly checked. Cheval Liberté vans have received European approval. They come with a 2-year parts and labor warranty, and a 5-year warranty for aluminum boards and walls.
You can also add accessories to your van to help manage tricky horses during transport. For example, you can add head separators that prevent two horses from coming into contact with each other during transport, or a foal gate to discourage young horses from standing or jumping over the rear deck.
Finally, a van camera will help you monitor your horses’ condition and behavior during transport. You can then stop at the slightest unusual behavior.
Want to hit the road with peace of mind? You can rest assured by taking out transport insurance. Its purpose is to insure the contents of your van or truck, i.e. the horse(s) being transported, in the event of fire or accident. Veterinary expenses, mortality, unfit and stolen horses, reimbursement of competition entry fees and damage to saddlery are all part of the policy’s basic cover.
Optional coverage is available for van interior fittings, damage to the sulky or horse-drawn vehicle, and towing/repatriation costs for the van and horses.
If horses are to be transported on a regular basis, an annual contract will be more appropriate. On the other hand, if it’s occasional, Cheval Assur offers temporary contracts for 24H, 48H, 72H and 7 days.
So, whether in competition or at home, a poorly closed stall door (or one opened by a particularly clever horse) can have serious consequences, especially if there are no fences to hold the horse back, which can in some cases wander out onto the road, for example! And what about intrusions? There are many dangerous scenarios: an ill-intentioned person who could injure the horse (or dope it, for example, in a competition), or an ignorant person who means no harm… Here too, Coho offers a solution that goes beyond the “stall under video surveillance” and is particularly dissuasive. The Coho camera lets you secure your box at home or on the move. In this case, the camera is installed and used in a removable competition box, and is battery-powered. The perfect reassurance for any occasion.
Whether at the stable or in competition: in addition to detecting abnormal behavior, the camera’s Artificial Intelligence is also capable of detecting human presence, and alerting the owner. The same applies to the opening of the cubicle door: thanks to a small sensor placed on the door, the camera can see the state of the door at all times. It takes a few seconds of video on opening, and a photo on closing, as well as notifying the owner if he or she so desires.
If your horse escapes from his stall and causes damage to a third party, you will be held responsible. We advise you to check that you have third-party liability coverage for this type of situation.
And because buying a horse is a major investment, Cheval Assur’s “Equine Multirisk” policy includes theft and death as basic cover. Multirisque de l’équidé” policy. . This allows you to recover the full cost of your purchase.
These solutions and products will help you welcome your equine companion with complete peace of mind, and enjoy the unique experience of being an equine owner!
