Right now I have been using my cell phone while I ride but it does not work well for me. Considering purchasing a FitBit or Jawbone, etc. Are there any that offer riding calorie estimates? How many of you use one?
Garmin’s Vivo bands (or at least the Vivosmart) has an option where you can record an “exercise”, which defaults to running, and then change it on the phone app to riding. Since it can only go by how much your wrist moves it can only record so much, it does tend to get confused during sitting trot work but the estimate doesn’t seem too far off.
I have the charge HR - so it estimates my calories from my heart rate. It does count steps as well when I’m riding… I think its rather interesting. A dressage lesson can definitely make my heart rate climb and burn as many calories as doing a crossfit WOD
I have had the fitbit Force for about 15 months. On the whole I have liked it pretty well, but have a few complaints as far as riding is concerned …
It only logs “steps” regardless of what the activity actually is. I feel like with horseback riding probably at a walk I’m not getting as much activity as if I were walking … but once you get up into trot\canter, I’m probably doing as much as if I were jogging. So I wish there were some way it married “steps” up with heartrate for a more accurate assessment of how much you’re actually doing.
I always found it annoying that they say it’s not water proof. Yes I’ve forgotten in the shower a couple of times and it didn’t die right away, but on the whole anytime it’s going to be raining out or I’m going to be dealing with a horse in a washrack, I take it off. Which defeats the purpose of tracking.
I tried tracking sleep for a while, but it was getting annoying to remember to turn it on or off, and was always making corrections in the application during the day, so finally gave up bothering with tracking my sleep.
There’s no way (that I’ve found) to put in some kind of generic or baseline or minimum record if you forgot to wear it for a day. That history is just gone. I with that they’d allow you to at least do an “i forgot it day” in the app and let the app plug in a generic number that might be consistent with your usual activity level.
At 15 months even being as careful as I could about water, it’s starting to fall apart. There are little bits of plastic around the screws that have worn off, andjust yesterda I realized it’s coming apart at seams near the face.
The newer models may address some of these problems, but as this one falls apart, I’m going to go back to shopping from scratch, maybe going a different brand.
I have a Fitbit Flex and they say it is waterproof - they say shower with it on so don’t think hosing is a problem. It does count steps even when the horse is walking but I just upped my daily goal as took that into account.
I use an app on my iPhone called Moves. Couple of things I like: it logs activity constantly, you do not have to start it when doing something. Also it logs time and distance. I tend to want to know how long I rode, wether it was a walk or faster I already know by my routine.
Keep the comments coming! My main complaint about the phone is that it is BIG, and I have to clip it to my waistband so it’s very bulky. 
I have been looking for breeches with a pocket on the leg, but having trouble finding a brand with a normal waistline.
I use a Polar FT4 when I ride- it monitors your heart rate and translates it into the calories burned. There is a watch part that displays heart rate, calories and/or time (like a stop watch) and then a separate heart monitor strap that goes around your chest. I wear the heart monitor strap under my sports bra. I barely notice it when I ride, and it’s not visible under my shirts.
[QUOTE=outfoxem;8143515]
Keep the comments coming! My main complaint about the phone is that it is BIG, and I have to clip it to my waistband so it’s very bulky. I have been looking for breeches with a pocket on the leg, but having trouble finding a brand with a normal waistline.[/QUOTE]
What about an arm band for the phone if you want to keep using that? I like to have my phone on me when running and when my bottoms don’t have a phone pouch, I use an arm band. It’s not ideal but it works.
[QUOTE=ladymcts;8143229]
It only logs “steps” regardless of what the activity actually is. I feel like with horseback riding probably at a walk I’m not getting as much activity as if I were walking … but once you get up into trot\canter, I’m probably doing as much as if I were jogging. So I wish there were some way it married “steps” up with heartrate for a more accurate assessment of how much you’re actually doing.
The newer models may address some of these problems, but as this one falls apart, I’m going to go back to shopping from scratch, maybe going a different brand.[/QUOTE]
The FitBit Charge HR and Surge have heart rate monitors built in. I actually prefer the style of the Flex (and the water-resistant/waterproof aspect), but really want the heart rate monitor component… so I will likely end up going with the Charge HR.
My iPhone 6 has a built-in step counter, so anywhere I take my phone, it’s counting my steps. I think it probably counts fewer steps than I actually take, as I often leave it at my desk when I wander off to go do something else. But I think it could still work as sort of a “fill-in” for the days one forgets their actual fitness device.
I think phone apps are going to be more accurate for tracking distance/activity than the activity trackers. I have a garmin vivofit2 and wear it while walking. I’ve walked some USATF certified half marathon courses with it and it will say I have walked anywhere from 8.9 to 11.2 miles as opposed to 13.1. I’ve also worn it with my garmin GPS on the same wrist and gotten very different numbers. As far as calories, fitness trackers just aren’t your first choice . If you want to carry your phone, consider one of these. I use them for carrying my phone for running, riding, etc.
I have a FitBit One and after 6 months it has stopped syncing with my phone and tablet. It still records number of steps, etc. but that info is gone at the end of the day. I won’t buy another one when it totally dies. It registered 10K steps for my 40 minute mainly trotting lesson yesterday. No heart rate monitor.
I have been wearing the fitbit Charge HR for a few months (got it as an pre-order, so I’ve been wearing it as long as anyone could).
It definitely adjust steps for riding. The very first time I wore it, my horse did one of those stumbles that makes you think you are going ass over tea kettle for a stride or two and I could pinpoint THE EXACT MOMENT it happened on my heart rate graph… So in retrospect, that was kind of cool. But only in retrospect!
The only time you have to take it with a grain of salt is when you go trail riding. In the mountains. It does have a GPS function so while ONE of us climbed the equivalent of 125 stairs that day, it is safe to say it wasn’t me. But I still got the badge. 
(Lido got a carrot. He was cool with that)
I have a Garmin Vivoactive that I really like. But I don’t think it captures my riding correctly. I just leave it in normal mode (walking) and it credits me with much more exercise than I do since the horse is doing much more work.
I may try to do my lessons on a different mode (running, hiking?) to see what it does for counting steps. I am curious to see if it can measure a horse’s canter stride since it tells me stride length. Horse strides may be outside its parameters, but I’ll find out soon!
I do like using it for trail riding as it measures time, distance, pace, and plots everything on a map using GPS.
[QUOTE=peedin;8143931]
I have a FitBit One and after 6 months it has stopped syncing with my phone and tablet. It still records number of steps, etc. but that info is gone at the end of the day. I won’t buy another one when it totally dies. It registered 10K steps for my 40 minute mainly trotting lesson yesterday. No heart rate monitor.[/QUOTE]
I had the same thing happen to mine … but I was able to re-register the device.
I just got a fit bit and love it, I got the highest model because I wanted a watch. I just tell it that I’m exercising when I go to ride and it figures out my calories burned based off of my heart rate
I love my FitBit One, actually. It doesn’t track heart rate, but it suits my needs. The only thing to keep an eye out for is the clip. The FitBit clip is superior to any of the off-brand ones out there; the off-brand ones aren’t as tight or as secure, and they can fall off during periods of high activity. Like a jumping lesson. Ask me how I know … 
The other thing I love about FitBit is that the company is really excellent. They replaced my One when it came off and disappeared during? after? a jump school. They’re supportive and generally a good group of people.
