Electronic Riding Device

[chestnutgelding]

Wanting to hear all opinions and experiences with riding devices that track your horses movement, heart rate, ride time at each gate, etc. I see Equisense and a couple others on the market and I’m wondering if they are worth it?

I left my full time training barn last year and am now completely on my own for the first time since I started riding. I am enjoying it and I take occasional lessons at nearby barns and meet up with trainers between shows. I want some insight on my rides like how many transitions am I making and do I spend more time on the right vs the left. I also hack out on the over many acres of pasture and trails on the property so a device that helps track that would be ideal.

Tell me everything and thanks in advance!

[RAyers]

I use this ancient thing called a wrist watch. I set the timer and track how much time I do at each gate, direction, as well as warm up and cool down times.

I count in my head how many transitions I do as I do them, e.g. try to do even numbers between left and right etc.

The same goes for gallop and trot sets in the open.

I’m not sure of the advantage of spending more money on something that we were taught decades ago and has been used for a century to train horses successfully.

[chestnutgelding]

@RAyers  Also, I think looking at the data is fun!

[RedHorses]

I use the Equestic Clip and a separate track my workout app to map my route, distance, time.

Hats off to you @RAyers - I’m far too focused on what my horse is doing to count my transitions. Especially when I’m doing something like the 10-10-10 exercise! :lol:

The Equestic Clip tracks :

• time in each gait (HWTC)
• number of jumps (though exuberant canter strides count as jumps!)
• percentage of ride spent in each bend (not rein, how your horse is bent) and straight ahead (the two bend numbers add up to 100%, and the straight ahead tells you what percentage of the time you were traveling a straight line)
• impulsion in G force in each gait (WTC), beats per minute in each gait (WTC)
• beats per minute in each gait (WTC)
• symmetry of the trot in each of rhythm, landing, and push off comparing left and right diagonals

There is also a breakdown by minute of which gait you were in on which bend throughout the ride - it’s a time scale with coloured bars indicating gait, on the left or right side indicating bend. This one can show you your horse was actually bent left for most of the trot work even though you rode half your trot on each rein! I do a lot of exercises that include constantly changing rein so this graphic is very busy for me.

There are graphs for impulsion in each gait, beats per minute in each gait, and each of the three symmetry measures so you can see how consistent your horse is - which is sometimes surprising after seeing the ride average values.

You can rate your ride with happy, neutral, sad faces and add some notes on the ride (which equipment used, hack vs ring, exercises used, whatever - but I had to abbreviate at times as it’s not unlimited).

”‹”‹”‹”‹”‹”‹There are graphs showing the metrics for the last ten or twenty rides. Intensity, direction, gaits, rhythm, impulsion, symmetry. And you can look back at the individual ride results.

There is a free level of access once you purchase the clip, and subscription levels to get more information, and more horses. I have two horses and the first subscription level. Each clip can track up to ten horses, but you need the higher subscription level. The subscription gets me the twenty ride graphs and the symmetry graphs - which are worth it to me.

The Equestic Clip is not cheap, and it was an impulse buy for me, but I’m very happy to have it.

”‹”‹”‹”‹”‹”‹”‹
I use the free Caynax app to track/map my hacks, but there are any number of apps that can do that. I chose Caynax because there is zero social media/community connection. I ignore the speed and elevation graphs as they aren’t accurate, but I do get start/end times, total movement time, a map of where we went, and a breakdown of time/distance - I have it set on minutes per km but it is adjustable. I put up with the ads.

[Xanthoria]

The Equilab app is free and gives time, gaits, distance, tempo, speed, turns, calories, and a map. You can add ride notes, multiple horses, friends, etc. Other features like safety tracking, weather, and calendaring etc if you pay.

[_Zara]

I have an Equisence Motion.

When it’s good, and working correctly, it’s pretty cool. Maybe it’s just me but my results would sometimes skew so wonky that my horse should have been 3 legged lame but I’m pretty sure it got out of place somehow, the girth attachment does not work well with fluffy fleecey girths in my experience.

Its hanging out on my coffee table right now, has been since I moved my horse a few months ago.

ETA - Happy to loan it out to anyone that wants to try before they get a new one.

[Mouse_amp_Bay]

I second Equilab. Free, fun to use and helps you track how much time you spend in each gait. Also great for tracking your hacks as it allows you to see where you went and your average speed etc.

Might be be worth playing with to see if it works for you?

https://equilab.horse/

[EVneo]

I have the equisense and like it, but mine was a christmas gift, so I didn’t spend the money on it. What I really like, as a dressage rider, is that it measures the elevation of your horse’s front end - it’s fun to see that improve. It also really revealed to me how much I don’t spend equal time in each direction - looking at last night’s ride, 77% of my canter work was to the right. yikes lol. With the equisense, there is a lot of data to sort through, so if you like that, it will give you a lot to look at! I’ve also learned it gets “smarter” the more you use it.

[GraceLikeRain]

Timely since I just used my equisense for the first time last night. I have the original kickstarter version so I don’t know if newer models have different features.

Mine told me:
amount of time spent at each gait,
percent of time going each direction,
evenness of footfall at all three gaits,
elevation of the front end,
cadence,
regularity,
number of transitions,
workload distribution over the course of the ride

I found the volume of data from ride 1 to be phenomenal. Everything is well within a normal range in terms of cadence, elevation, and time spent going each direction. However, I now have very precise benchmarks to gauge our progress going forward.

The leather case for the equisense feels quite rough on the edges so my only concern is whether I will have issues with rubbing if I use it daily. Aside from that, I think it would make sense to use it every ride.

[QHEndurance]

I used to be more of a runner so I have a Garmin watch with that I used to track my hacks. It tracks mileage, duration, elevation, and average speed. Since I ride endurance, this is what I log in my training notes. I do have a separate heart rate monitor for the horse to keep an eye on his heart rate and recoveries during our workouts. That helps me ensure I’m not pushing him too hard. Everything I do could be done manually as @RAyers said. Transitions etc. is not something important to me as an endurance rider, but I do try to pay attention to the diagonal I’m on and try to balance that out as much as I can (knowing I favor one).

I tried the Equilab app but I felt like it really drained the battery on my phone. Has anyone else had that problem?

[mydogs]

I used the Seaver girth attachment. It gave me my horse’s heart rate, gait symmetry, how much time i spent in each gait, how much time we went going left & right, and had some information about jumping too.

I really liked it. When my trainer rode, it was interesting to watch the information on my phone to see when his heart rate spiked during certain exercises.

[kirbydog]

@RAyers

I use this ancient thing called a wrist watch. I set the timer and track how much time I do at each gate, direction, as well as warm up and cool down times.

I count in my head how many transitions I do as I do them, e.g. try to do even numbers between left and right etc.

The same goes for gallop and trot sets in the open.

I’m not sure of the advantage of spending more money on something that we were taught decades ago and has been used for a century to train horses successfully.

%100 agree with you. Somethings you can’t technology through. We’ve been training horses to very high levels for many, many years, and never needed these things.

[Twisting]

@kirbydog

%100 agree with you. Somethings you can’t technology through. We’ve been training horses to very high levels for many, many years, and never needed these things.

Just because something can be done without the tech, doesn’t mean the tech can’t help improve the process. Stirrups used to be fancy new fangled tech once upon a time. People were riding just fine without them for generations. You will undoubtedly be a stronger rider if you gave them up for good.

We all use technology to help us ride, some just use slightly newer technology.

[RAyers]

Ok, let’s ask this question then, What do you do with the data?

How do you determine a lameness? Do you collect every gait spectrum and then use spectrum analysis (as is done in real world biomechanics labs) that is then compared to the normal spectrum of gaits for the horse?

Is heart rate data really used to measure conditioning and develop subsequent conditioning programs for the horse?

Collecting data is nothing without an actual function. If people want to use technology to collect data for fun, fine. But if they use the technology to make uninformed decisions or analyses, then the technology is, at best, dangerous or stupid.

Horsemanship is more than technology or data. It is a true understanding of horses and how to get the best from them using available tools. In the past we didn’t have those tools and so we learned to do it using our heads, all the technology does is enable abdication of knowledge, e.g. feeling when you horse has uneven steps in a gait, or having a plan and goals for every ride.

[kirbydog]

@Twisting

Just because something can be done without the tech, doesn’t mean the tech can’t help improve the process. Stirrups used to be fancy new fangled tech once upon a time. People were riding just fine without them for generations. You will undoubtedly be a stronger rider if you gave them up for good.

We all use technology to help us ride, some just use slightly newer technology.

On that point, you can’t show in the equitation with the new fancy stirrups. you need to learn to ride with the basics. All that technology does is distract from paying attention to the horse, himself!

I find it very interesting, that on a forum that is always going on about how one needs to pay attention to the basics, and draw reins are the work of the devil, and trainers are in league with said devil, that a device like this is even being embraced? What about horsemanship??

eta, save your money, spend it on good shoeing, a good vet, good lessons and training, whatever. It’s a gimick

[HJdaydream]

@kirbydog

On that point, you can’t show in the equitation with the new fancy stirrups. you need to learn to ride with the basics. All that technology does is distract from paying attention to the horse, himself!

I find it very interesting, that on a forum that is always going on about how one needs to pay attention to the basics, and draw reins are the work of the devil, and trainers are in league with said devil, that a device like this is even being embraced? What about horsemanship??

eta, save your money, spend it on good shoeing, a good vet, good lessons and training, whatever. It’s a gimick

I’m curious what your stance is on your vet (or a farrier collaborating with a vet) utilizing vastly superior diagnostic equipment on your horse? Such equipment was not available in the distant past, and even in the near past it was not at the same level it is now. Is not not good horsemanship to make sure that our horses are as healthy and pain-free as possible to the best of our available resources?

[Twisting]

Technology that helps you track your distance and horses’ heart rate is hardly draw reins or a quick fix gimmick. It’s a tool that allows you a more accurate idea of your horse’s progress, it will allow you to better judge how much and how quickly to increase your horse’s conditioning. Which in turn can reduce the instances of injury due to over work or exertion the horse is not yet ready for. Human athletes have also embraced technology like this to reduce injury and improve performance.

Rather than just going on “feel” you can have actual verifiable data to tell you how your horse is performing, where his areas of weakness are and to track trends over time. Feel is great for someone who rides 5 horses a day for 30 years. Adult ammy’s with a job and one horse they are trying to bring along might need a bit of help. Help that, I might add, can also help them to develop that horseman’s feel, but with less risk of over doing things and hurting the horse in the process.

Gathering more data to help you tailor your program to meet your horse’s needs is not a cheap gimmick. Just because it’s not how it was done back in the day doesn’t mean it is wrong. Wanting to develop a training and conditioning program best suited to your horses needs IS horsemanship. The more information you have the better you can tailor your program, and a device can keep track of that far better than any human brain can.

If you don’t want to use the tracking tech, more power to you, but it’s a bit much to be questioning the horsemanship of folks who do.

[kirbydog]

@HJdaydream

I’m curious what your stance is on your vet (or a farrier collaborating with a vet) utilizing vastly superior diagnostic equipment on your horse? Such equipment was not available in the distant past, and even in the near past it was not at the same level it is now. Is not not good horsemanship to make sure that our horses are as healthy and pain-free as possible to the best of our available resources?

Good question. For me it, a different deal. I want the most up to date veterinary science possible, although, I have found wtr farriers, a good, old fashioned intelligent and easy to work with farrier is the best.

I know people love technology, but I strongly feel that you need to learn the horsemanship first. If you suspect something is amiss, then maybe add the tech, but i dunno…how many thousands upon thousands of horses have been trained to the highest level in whatever discipline they participate, without the tech. And you would still need the vet/trainer/farrier to help you.
OTH, video is a great tool!
Please bear in mind that I am an old curmodeony trainer who doesn’t love high tech gadgets. I would not embrace or welcome it. Listen to the horse, not the machine

[DMK]

@RAyers

Ok, let’s ask this question then, What do you do with the data?

How do you determine a lameness? Do you collect every gait spectrum and then use spectrum analysis (as is done in real world biomechanics labs) that is then compared to the normal spectrum of gaits for the horse?

Is heart rate data really used to measure conditioning and develop subsequent conditioning programs for the horse?

Collecting data is nothing without an actual function. If people want to use technology to collect data for fun, fine. But if they use the technology to make uninformed decisions or analyses, then the technology is, at best, dangerous or stupid.

Horsemanship is more than technology or data. It is a true understanding of horses and how to get the best from them using available tools. In the past we didn’t have those tools and so we learned to do it using our heads, all the technology does is enable abdication of knowledge, e.g. feeling when you horse has uneven steps in a gait, or having a plan and goals for every ride.

I don’t disagree entirely, but my fitness program has only been made better by the addition of my retro-fitted human HR monitor (or rather, Xander’s retro-fitted HR monitor). Even more so when you add in the inability to get immediate “good” feedback on HR and to a lesser extent, respiration. I can’t even hop off and do Ye Olde Stethascope (no header available 99% of my drives). And I’ll be honest, I don’t spend a lot of time over every session’s data. A lot of time I check it at key points (the hill of death, after a series of sprints) and do a quick analysis against WBGT in really unfavorable conditions (aka “summer”) or just the temp in winter weather. And damn, I love it the most when I leave it on after stripping the harness and start my 10 minute vet box cool down analysis. I can see in real time exactly how he is returning to normal (is it time? or cold water? or both? When it is just cold water I know I have a fit fjord who just - big shocker - dissipates heat slooooowly). Now when I start my fitness work when it in the hot months I’m a bit more religious about recording ALL the conditions (WBGT, HR, temp, respiration at start/end 5 min/10 min/30min post work. I know you are shocked to learn I even have a color coded excel spread sheet for all those values…

And even before the driving, since I ride/drive alone, I used the Road ID app, which only collects a minimal amount of data, but I’ll admit, knowing other people got an email when I rode motivated me a bit. #butnotthatmuch

And true confessions, I would LOVE that device that measures stride length, etc. because I could geek out over that all day long and twice on Sunday. Hell, I geeked out over the one bell boot research, did a 6 week trial (helped SO MUCH) and even wrote it up in the newsletter I put out for our club. But I have two issues with it: 1. It ain’t cheap and 2. I might get too far in my head. So much of what is in my head falls into is it a training issue? A fitness issue? A “I just ran a marathon, of course I’m stiff you damn fool” issue… or an actual issue?

[GoodTimes]

I don’t have any feedback for the OP. I’ve periodically researched many of the products hoping the prices would come down.

I’m a runner and Fitbit has been a game changer for me. Having real time splits, pace, heart rate, etc during training runs is amazing. For someone who doesn’t have a trainer standing there with a stop watch it makes a huge difference. For years I ran too fast during my recovery and distance runs. I “knew” I was doing it, but could never confirm it until I was getting to landmarks (and doing math in your head while running is very difficult). Now? I just flip my wrist every couple minutes and slow myself down. My internal pace clock has improved immensely in the last couple years, and I’ve been running and racing for nearly 20 years now.

If there’s technology out there that can help my horse and I become better athletes, that can detect subtle unevenness that I didn’t notice or that I was second guessing, that can remind me that I favour tracking right vs left, etc I’m going to find a way to utilize that information. Even if it’s only to confirm what I already know.

I work in cardiac ultrasound. I spend my living conducting stress echocardiograms. I find these metric fascinating. Just because you don’t find them interesting, it doesn’t mean that these devices aren’t helpful. And honestly, I don’t see how they would be harmful.