Not exactly horse related, but you guys know why I want to do this, versus the tech support from the various companies whose response is generally “but… that’s the point”.
I want to track my activity but specifically disinclude my horseback riding activities. Any watches that allow for the activity tracker to be disabled, in particular the step counter? I do use the watch to time my rides so don’t want to take it off.
I had an early iteration of the Fitbit a number of years ago. I believe it allowed me to select a fitness activity (e.g. bicycling) that would stop the step counting. I might be wrong, as it has been a while, but you might give it a try. It was an issue because we were having monthly step competitions at work and I needed it to not count steps when I was riding.
This drives me crazy too - not enough to give up my Apple Watch for, though, I just end up ignoring the activity tracker.
I wonder if you did an official workout using the workout app during the time you are riding and marked it as riding if it wouldn’t count the riding as steps during that time. I haven’t tried that.
So I think what you’re asking is that you want your watch to completely ignore the physical activity during your riding time, and be a watch / stopwatch. Or do you want to keep some of the data, such as HR or distance, but not have it count towards your steps?
For a Garmin device, you can easily edit activities on Garmin Connect. So at the start of your ride, select some activity and press start, and then press finish when you’re done with the ride. Then go into Connect and delete that activity. I am certain all similar smartwatch competitors have the same ability to delete a given activity.
But it begs the question-- what harm does it cause to just allow the watch to collect data while you ride? If all you want is a timepiece, should be easy to ignore the extra features it’s trying to provide.
I do want to count my steps, but not the 15,000 of them it counts while I’m riding. 
Taking the watch off for the ride isn’t ideal, as I do use it to time my rides.
Basically I want it to be an activity tracker at all times except when I’m riding.
This is a similar reason why I need it to quit counting. Maybe I could choose cycling or something, that might work!
What kind of watch is it? You might be able to program a new activity and call it “riding”. Some have more options than others.
I broke my last one, so I’m looking for a new one. Do you have recommendations?
I have a Garmin 935 Multisport but I wouldn’t recommend it because it’s probably way more watch than you need. But most of the Garmin watches are programmable to some extent. Many of them have an “add custom activity” setting. Here’s a link; you can probably find some information by searching google but also Youtube - there are a ton of videos to help with Garmin settings (I always need to use them because I’m a watch idiot.). https://www8.garmin.com/manuals/webhelp/vivoactive3/EN-US/GUID-1E365EB2-6BC1-4E25-96D9-5D4742A56BF0.html
I don’t mind mine counting steps while I ride, I figure “walking” and “sitting on a walking horse” to be about the same, and posting and cantering obviously more than just either. I do mind mine counting steps when I’m mowing or on tractor tho… 
And then there was that time I inadvertently recorded an entire day’s worth of riding, farm chores, etc as if I was out on a run the whole time. The GPS map was hysterical. I might need to consider efficiency a bit more.
I’ve got the Garmin 645, and last one was the 520. Both are very good, but as S1969 says, probably more watch than you need if you’re interested in basic stats (time, distance, steps). The GPS watches are big/thick – not super comfortable on most women’s wrists. But because they tend to be used by data-obsessed endurance athletes 
they do connect to great activity-management online tools. So you’d have the ability to easily edit your riding time to save the data you want, dump the steps you don’t. (But then again, that’s more after the fact. If you just want real-time, middle of the day check on how many steps you’ve got, that wouldn’t help much.
Good lord how many steps/miles was THAT!?
The GPS tracking is not perfect and can drift, which accounts for a lot of that mess. One time after I got home from a race or something my Garmin accidentally started again inside my bag and I didn’t discover it until I decided to unpack much later in the day. It recorded 4.61 km of distance over a little more than 10 hours… while it was sitting completely still! Being indoors and in the bag probably didn’t help. The more obstacles in between the watch and the sky, the worse the accuracy.
I have a Forerunner 35, but it must be a wimp of a watch because it started to act so goofy I stopped wearing it and went back to a GShock. The dust and dirt of the barn seems to be a big killer.
@anon81364900 and @S1969, can you comment on the durability of your watches?
Mine have been absolute warhorses. Wear it all the time. Mostly only have replaced them because I feel like rewarding myself with a new gadget or somehow believe it will make me run faster. LOL
@endlessclimb that was over 3 miles. Agree the GPS isn’t accurate, usually over a the course of a marathon (where you know it’s exactly 26.2mi) the watch is up to a 1/2mi off (but then again, some of that is just from not managing the tangents (taking the outside of a curve in the road, going around other runners, etc. If I miss your goal time by a minute or less, it’s depressing to see how much extra, unnecessary distance I ran by being stupid about tangents).
Mine have been very durable. I broke the screen of my VivoActive and it still works but because it is a touch screen some “buttons” can be pushed. My 935 works great except for the altimeter which is apparently a common issue with this watch. I should send it back for repair but my data uploads automatically to Strava which records by GPS anyway, so I don’t really need the elevation changes in Connect (the Garmin program).
I find the GPS to be quite accurate, actually. I think the difference in a race is definitely attributed to whether you’re exactly in the same line they measured. The longer the race, the more chance for deviation, or course. @furlong47 I would wonder about that GPS reading and wonder if your watch recorded some of the time you were driving or something? I’ve never had any “drift” in my GPS, even in the water. My last 5k on an official course measured 3.12. Pretty close to perfect.
There’s definitely drift, sometimes quite a bit, and reflections off buildings and such can have an effect. I mostly use it for reviewing my track after orienteering events, and in city sprints you can see where the track has you running through buildings and other things that you know you didn’t do in reality.
Garmin explains a bit here:
https://support.garmin.com/en-US/?faq=CC5azODuBd9BhRbKvp82JA
This is the track from that day (with identifying info and most of the map removed, but nothing else edited). You can see that it starts, ends, and entirely takes place within my house. The drift isn’t huge, maybe a hundred feet max, but over the period of 10 hours it adds up.
As far as durability, I had a Forerunner 305 first and that lasted about 8 years. And that’s 8 years of getting wet, muddy, sweated on, knocked into rocks and trees, etc (see orienteering, above). It still works but the rubber buttons basically disintegrated and I had to carry around a pen to poke into the holes to start and stop it. I have a Forerunner 230 now and so far it has been similarly durable.
I also had a 305 but gave up on it when it was taking forever and a day to sync with the satellites. FWIW, it did last a long time as you noted.
Thanks, all, for the inputs here! Lots to think about, and I think that setting up an activity that (hopefully) will not count steps is my best bet. For the durability, I think I’m just going to try to find something with a decent warranty and go from there.
The GPS accuracy has gotten much better since the 305. Much much better. Though it will still show some drift - you’re never going to complete escape that. But the GPS on my current watch (245) syncs instantly.
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