With our phones at our fingertips, we riders should take advantage of what technology has to offer. Whether you trail ride and are looking to map your route, or you compete and want to analyze your performance horse’s exercise program, here are five apps that can help you out.
EQUiTrail App: Marketed as the “ultimate trail riding app for horseback riders,” this app offers real-time access to trail maps. EQUiTrail tracks your location while you’re riding and can nestle in your pocket or saddle bag—no need to be on your phone while you enjoy your ride. You can use EQUiTrail to view your riding statistics, mark your favorite locations or dangerous terrain, and save your maps to reuse later or share with friends.
Horse Riding Tracker: Available for both iOS and Android systems, this app is great for analyzing your ride. Horse Riding Tracker provides detailed statistics of your ride, including distance, duration, maximum speed, and average speed. You can compare the data of different ride sessions, allowing you to create or vary your riding program. Unique features this app offers are analyzing heart-rate data and health-app integration, both of which enable you to assess the health-boosting impact of your rides.
Equilab: An all-in-one app that not only tracks your horse’s movements to analyze your ride, but also allows you to plan your events, include your horse’s basic information, and make use of safety tracking that enables someone to follow your ride live from their phone. Equilab offers technology that can track energy consumption for both you and your horse, while mapping your riding tracks. Equilab’s many data options will be of interest to riders who want to know every detail of their ride.
MyTracks – Google: While not marketed specifically for horseback riding, this app is a handy alternative for horsemen. MyTracks offers many features that are easy to use with Google, such as being able to show current location on Google Map, exporting or importing apps from Google Drive, and syncing or restoring information from Google Drive. With six key features—record routes, share routes, follow routes, plan routes, place markers, and live broadcast your locations with friends—this app is ideal for riders.
Horse&Rider OnDemand: This app is PERFECT for advancing your horsemanship in the arena or on the trail. Horse&Rider OnDemand allows you to stream Western training and horse-care videos anytime, anywhere. While this app doesn’t track or analyze your ride, Horse&Rider OnDemand does offer training tips from top Western horsemen, Brad Barkemeyer and Bud Lyon.
Don’t fall behind when it comes to finding a way to enhance your ride with the touch of your fingers. We’re always on the lookout for the next thing to make us better riders, and your phone might just hold the key.
MORE WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR RIDE:
