There are dozens of apps out there designed for every discipline (yes, even bull riding) and every level of rider, as well as games and lifestyle apps for the hobbyist or for those of us who can’t get enough of horses when away from the barn. Developers have answered the call to develop apps that can actually improve your riding and the conditioning of your horse, as well as create a social network to discuss issues and generally hang out (virtually of course). There’s even a new app from Holland that can assess pain in your horse.
Here we’ve selected 6 apps that are informative, cutting-edge, or just plain fun. (Note that in most cases the links supplied are for the App Store; downloads may able be available for Android on Google Play)
Equilab Equestrian Tracker
This app promises to help you reach your riding goals by automatically tracking your horse’s movements. Using your phone’s sensors, it shows you things like gait distribution, percentage distribution between right and left turns, beat, stride and speed. You can also pay extra for Safety Tracking, which lets someone follow your ride until you’re back at the barn by sharing your position via GPS. The app also has a calendar and a diary and lets you add your stable and individual horses while also connecting you to other riders from around the world.
Available only on the App Store for iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch.
Free, In-App Purchases
Rating: 4.8/5
EPWA
The acronym stands for Equine Pain and Wellness App, the brainchild of a Dutch team of researchers (including veterinarians) and developers to help horse owners read their horse’s faces and body language to assess pain. According the developers, owners “need to observe a horse for at least a full two minutes to pick up subtle signs of pain in his facial expressions. And you’d need five minutes to recognize it in his overall body language.” Currently available on Google Play for iOs and Android, the app prompts users to choose to evaluate either facial expressions or body language.
According to an article in The Horse, “Users then can start a two-minute timer for facial expressions or a five-minute timer for body language, during which time they can click on icons for certain expressions or behaviors each time they occur. The app counts these occurrences and then leads the user to a series of questions about the horse—how his ears are positioned, how he holds his head, what his eyes look like, etc. Once users record and select their responses, the app provides a final pain score on a facial expressions scale of 0 (no pain) to 18 (maximum pain). Scores of 5 or higher might indicate the horse is in pain and lead to a recommendation to contact a veterinarian.”
Free
Rating: 3.8
Horse Riding Tracker
Developed for iOS and watchOS, this app lets you deconstruct your ride with a map that plays back your riding session and gives you detailed stats on distance, duration, average speed and max speed. You can also analyze heart rate data and save notes after each ride for comparison. It is Siri integrated with audio feedback on distance and duration.
Free, In-App Purchases
Rating: 4.8
Horsealot
A social and lifestyle app to connect with fellow horse lovers all over the world that offers up discussions with members and special guests, including Olympic riders. The app has a daily mood board of photos and videos to inspire your horse-loving lifestyle, while also giving users a platform to form new friendships.
Free
Rating: 4.6
BarnManager
This popular app helps support trainers, students, grooms, blacksmiths, vets and others to manage all the moving parts that are important in keeping our horses healthy and safe. Use the calendar for short and long-term planning for such things as lesson schedules. Upload notes and whiteboards, create individual horse profiles and make feed, packing and other charts and lists to help keep your barn running smoothly.
Free
Rating: 4.3
AllEarsApp
This one is designed to emit a sound on your phone to get your horse’s ears forward for photo taking. You can choose between 25 different horse-related sounds to custom fit what works for your horse’s perfect selfie pose. Never take a grumpy ears-back selfie again!
$2.99/$3.99
Rating: 4.6
