How hard would it be to develop a device that sent an alert to a friend or family member if you were bucked off? I can imagine something that would sense if you were laying down instead of sitting up. Basically, it could sense your position. If you could turn it on when you started riding (so it wouldn’t go off when you picked out your horse’s hooves) and then turned it off when you were done, wouldn’t that be helpful? Maybe a phone app, but phones break easily.
That is exactly what my Apple Watch does!
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Interesting, but would the watch break easily?
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There are tons of different watches with this capability that already exist.
Your cheaper solution is to have a friend or friends who you text before you get on and then again when you’re finished riding. If they haven’t heard from you in x amount of time then they check on you. I have friends who do this for each other when hiking/running.
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I use the free Equilab app to track my riding — route, pace, time at each gait, turns, etc. In addition to more metrics, the paid premium version has some sort of fall alert you can enable.
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There are the watches and there are apps (such as Equilab or RoadID) and I believe there was a device that came out at LandRover/ Rolex this year as well but can’t remember the name.
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No the Apple Watch is very durable it is not going to break from a fall barring something random like the horse stepping directly on it (RIP your wrist in that case).
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Thank you! That sounds pretty neat.
I hope this helps others who ride alone.
My husband tried to get me an Apple Watch, but I’ve been resisting because I think I’ll break it with all the chores I do. However, I am in the habit of using one of those stretchy waist bags when I run and started using it on trail rides, too. I used to keep the phone in the saddle bag, but, duh, if I’m separated from my noble steed…yeah.
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My dad does every farm chore imaginable wearing his Apple Watch. I basically never take mine off except to sleep, which includes riding and swimming. It’s not going to break.
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Mine, too – sort of.
Every time I dismounted from my 16.2hh horse it reported a fall and wanted to call 911.
There were other things that sent it into Red Alert Mode while riding. I finally switched off that function.
I’ve always just told the barn, if you see my horse prancing around fully tacked up but on his own and I’m nowhere to be seen, please come looking. 
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An Apple Watch is pretty indestructable and really makes me feel safer when riding alone. You need one with GPS + cellular, and can use Siri to call for help on it too, in case you don’t have your phone (or can’t reach it)
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A friend of mine did a cartwheel with her young daughter and her watch wanted to call 911 lol Seemed legit and a handy little device.
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I do all my chores and ride all my horses in one. Only take it off when I’m hosing and washing things.
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I have a series 3 Apple Watch (aka a really old one). It’s somehow doesn’t even have scratches on it; I’ve worn it everyday everywhere since I’ve had it and im going into year 6 with it.
I was just considering upgrading to a newer one for the fall detection, the advanced heart metrics and the advanced sleep metrics. Im guilty of not spending much money on myself so i can on horse stuff so I haven’t bit the bullet yet. And the old one still works and battery holds. I just can’t upgrade it anymore to the latest iOS.
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You aren’t going to break it. I haven’t, which makes it very tough. It’s banged around and covered in sweat and grit and still carries on. And it gets hosed when the horse does and it’s still going (although I would not hold it underwater). I rinse all the crud off under a faucet.
Buy the extended protection plan with the watch. I have always resisted those things because in a decade ago they had a bad reputation.
For Apple Watch, consider the extended protection as part of the purchase. The warranty is for only 1 year. For the price of an Apple Watch, I expect the damn thing to last at least 5 years or more. But if they will fix or replace it for only 1 year, that isn’t 5 years … if it does break after the year, no more watch. For that watch price I’m not ok with that.
After purchase, go to your techie specialist store and buy a screen protector and a protective casing for the rim. They can put it on for you (insist on that, they do it all of the time and are good at it). Or if you buy the watch from Best Buy or Office Depot, they probably have a specialist that can do those things for you.
I’ve got my watch face set up to show the current temp and the weather forecast, and I do look at that. And, for fun, I having it showing the time in 2 other countries. It does keep me alerted of incoming calls and messages, which otherwise I tend to miss for hours. I actually use it.
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You can hold it underwater no problem (maybe not the original but anything in the last 5 years). I’ve worn mine snorkeling several times and I wear it in the pool and the ocean.
Apple Watch Series 2 and later can be used for shallow-water activities like swimming in a pool or ocean, but you shouldn’t use models other than Apple Watch Ultra for diving, water skiing, or other activities involving submersion below shallow depth or high-velocity water.
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Yep. Like the time one of my mares came flying into the indoor arena during a beginner lesson (indoor was attached to cross-country field) and went galloping around the outside of the arena yelling. I like to think she was saying, “Go find my mom. I dumped her about a mile out.” Either that or she was laughing about it. As I trudged up a hill heading to the barn, I heard my name being called. And there were two friends leading my sheepish-looking mare. Got a leg up and reminded her of how we were supposed to head back to the barn, together. 
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Does RoadID have it now? I looked ~a year ago and it monitored if you stayed in an area for over 10 minutes, but no direct fall detection. I was ring riding and the area was just larger than the ring, so it didn’t “detect” my riding and kept going off. Wound up being useless unless out on the trail.
Ive swam with mine multiple times and there have been no issues. They are waterproof up to certain depths, even my ancient one.
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I always have my flip phone with me, would this watch be a better idea? MMM - have to talk to hubby about this.
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