riding better with technology?

It will surprise exactly nobody to learn that... I'm a bit of a data geek. I'm kiiiiinda into numbers. Problem solving, data exploration.... Technology, research, analysis.... It's my jam, ya know? And, not entirely coincidentally, also my day job haha.

New technologies in cell phone apps, smart watches, and other digital devices have ushered in this new era of tech-enabled living. We are bombarded with interesting (or otherwise) notifications and nuggets of information every day, every minute almost, of our lives. And naturally, some of this has trickled into my horse habit too. Obvi.

charlie fully supports my mission of trying anything - literally anything - to improve myself lol

If I've learned anything as a purveyor of data products, however, it is this: Information alone is not enough to change behavior.

Thus begging the question: What data or information *is* actionable for riding? Can technology actually influence our riding behavior or choices, in real-time or otherwise?

Over the years I've tried out a number of different apps to use while riding. With.... Various degrees of success haha. Some were discarded immediately for being too buggy or glitchy. Others were interesting enough to stick around for a while, but eventually faded. And a few have had more staying power.

dedicated equine app folder.... most of which aren't actually designed for use with horses, go figure

Personally, I'm interested in figuring out which is which, and why. So here are a few examples of what I've tried, and how I feel about them. Notably, only one is actually specific to riding....

1. Altitude Profile

What is it? A basic hiking app I downloaded to help with conditioning.

This app tracks your activity via gps location and compiles a package of meta data:

- Satellite map of your activity's path
- Total distance covered (kilometers or miles)
- Activity duration and average speed
- Total change in elevation
- Elevation chart

gosh but i love meta data

How do I use it? Honestly? Kinda sparingly, in specific circumstances.

Zillions of apps can track metrics like speed, distance, and duration, but what makes this app special is the elevation chart, IMO. I've used this app to map out all the hills at Charlie's farm, and like to use it during my cross country course walks at events (especially at new venues).

How is it actionable?

This data isn't necessarily useful in real-time (unless you're lost hiking and trying to find your way home lol), and I don't use it often. For instance, you only really need to map out your home base hills and trails etc once, ya know?

That said, I now know the relative size of the various hills available to me. AND, by using this app to map out local cross country courses, I also know how my hills at home compare to what we might see in competition.

 

For instance, Fair Hill has a monster hill that their courses typically run down, and then back up again. Thanks to this app, I know we've got a hill almost the exact same size right in Charlie's back yard that's prime real estate for conditioning work.

Verdict? Overall, it's useful for making plans. The data showed me how to optimize our favorite trail circuits for maximum hill climbs. And it helps me assess how the topography of a new or unfamiliar venue compares. I don't use it often, but I do use it.


2. CVS Simulator (Chromatic Vision Simulator)

What is it? An camera filter app that simulates different types of color blindness.

How do I use it? This app has four filters to see and/or take pictures using the most common vision types.

C = Common
P = Protanope
D = Deuteranope (how horses see)
T = Tritanope

left side is common vision, right side is how horses see. basically red/green color blindness

Theoretically you use this app to understand how horses perceive their surroundings, especially how they distinguish colors (and thus, contrast) differently from us.

For instance, I've used this app to view cross country jumps to see what might look spooky. Turns out those giant imposing red fences prevalent on literally every single course everywhere just look greenish brown to the horses, not the big-bold-aggressive red they seem to us (or is that just me??).

How is it actionable? Eh... Unless you're worried about letting your horse pick out his own clothes, there aren't any real "next steps" to this one....

apples maybe aren't so spooky after all!

Verdict? Ultimately this app fell into the "interesting but useless" category. It was kinda cool at first, but didn't really tell me anything new.

3. EquiLab

What is it? This is the free version of the app that works with the Equisense (a "digital riding companion" sensor device that costs about $250). It tracks ride meta data in real time, and produces after-the-fact reporting on each individual ride, plus weekly and monthly totals.

(Notably, you can only look back so far into your history without upgrading to the premium version...)

can view data from individual rides plus weekly and monthly reporting

Data points include:
- Ride category (dressage, jumping, cardio, hacking, etc)
- Duration spent and distance covered in each gait
- Average speed and beats per minute (bpm) per gait
- Satellite map of ride
- A suite of charts on speed, tempo, stride, and elevation on the ride
- Distribution of time spent in each direction (hopelessly glitchy and useless, IMO)
- Notes section and option to add weather detail

the turn distribution data never really makes any sense. methinks it's entirely bogus. like, that dressage ride was in a ring only slightly bigger than a large dressage court and is mapped below, but we spent less than 4min turning?

How do I use it? This app functions like a riding journal. I've used it to compile how long I spend riding in each gait. Some meta data isn't available until after the ride is complete, but time distribution by gait is done in real-time.

maps can be fun tho. at least, when you have good enough cell reception!

The satellite maps are nicer than those from Altitude Profile, bc they're color-coded by speed. The suite of charts is absolute junk tho haha -- noisy nonsense that's hard to read. Even if I could read it tho, it's not clear what to do with the info. Sorta like a seismograph. It'll measure the force and duration of our earthquakes, but not how to prevent the next one.

Theoretically you could maybe try to scrape the underlying raw data to assess trends over time.... But even then, it's not clear how to act on that data.

but what does it mean??

The reports are nice to scroll through, seeing what our typical riding routine looks like in actual hard and fast numbers... Overall, tho, it's more journal than planner.

How is it actionable?  The real-time duration-by-gait function of this app is its best feature. I've used it often during schooling rides to ensure I'm logging the requisite time and intensity for our conditioning plans. I have also used this more frequently than any others for producing visual blog content.

The "journal" aspect tho, the weekly and monthly totals, were never accurate bc I always try to hand my phone off for video during lessons.

the maps are useful for helping me remember details from a specific ride tho

Verdict? I eventually stopped using the app, and haven't missed it. I prefer a stop watch for proper trot sets (or, ya know, old fashioned landmarks haha), and prefer riding off feel rather than a clock for our dressage schools. Ymmv.

4. Soundbrenner

What is it? A metronome.

It's designed for musicians and has tons of settings for time signature, subdivisions, sound effect, and, most importantly, beats per minute (bpm).

How do I use it? I set it to a "trot" tempo (tick tock tick tock tick tock) at the beginning of a ride and leave it running in my pocket until the ride is over.

I keep it at trot bc:
- That's where Charlie and I have the most work to do
- Changing tempos on the app right before or after a transition sounds disruptive
- It's great for quickly modulating our tempo after a canter-trot or walk-trot transition

there are probably a zillion apps out there with this functionality. i just set it and forget it!

It took a couple rides to figure out Charlie's natural/optimal bpm, mostly bc we're a hot goddamn mess and couldn't hold a rhythm for shit. (maybe why our Equilab charts were so noisy?? lol...)

The google says a good working trot is around 75bpm and we experimented with 70 through 80bpm. Charlie's sweet spot is around 77.

How is it actionable?  It influences how I ride my horse in real time, like a coach would.

Except, instead of a human hollering, "Shorten your reins for the love of sweet baby jesus!," the tick tock tick tock tick tock mercilessly, ruthlessly, relentlessly reminds me RHYTHM is the fundamental block in the training pyramid. Connection and Impulsion can only come after.

It helps me calibrate my ride in real-time, and the effects are noticeable. After a month of sustained use, Charlie automatically holds this 77bpm tempo. Always. First trot of the day, last trot of the day. 77bpm. And he feels much stronger and more balanced in doing so.

basically trying to use the metronome to help get charlie exactly this muscle bound haha. is it working?? mebbe!!

Interestingly -- those might all be very very different trots from the perspective of energy and impulsion and stride length. But they are all equal in tempo. This alone feels like we're figuring out our balance, strength and elasticity within trot.

Verdict? This is the newest app in the arsenal, so it's still shiny and exciting. But... Yea, I use this for every schooling ride and feel like it's made a tangible, measurable difference in the quality of our work.

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So. Ahem. Cough cough. This ended up not sounding so cutting edge or modern after all lol, considering topography, time keeping, and riding to music ended up being my biggest "technological" winners lol. Goooo figure.

That said, tho, I'm curious about your experiences too. Have you used any of these (or similar) apps? Or something else entirely?

What sort of features do you look for in terms of helping you figure out what's working, what isn't, and what to change in your riding?