There are many useful apps designed to make daily life with horses a little bit easier. From finding a new hacking route to perfecting your position, check out our round up of some of the most handy apps to have in your toolkit — download them on to your phone so that they’re ready to use and always to hand when you need them.
Blackdog Equestrian Biomechanics Analysis
Free to download; monthly subscription £9.99 (basic), £17.99 (pro); annual subscription £100 (basic), £180 (pro)
Simply film a horse and rider from the side using your smart phone. Upload the video to this cloud platform through the app, wait a few minutes and receive detailed analysis of the rider’s position and the horse’s movement. Get exercises, stretches and plans specifically to help improve your position.
Bridlewayz
Free to download and use
This app has been created to help bring the equestrian community together through an interactive bridleway map, which shows all UK bridleways, as well as local facilities and services.
The main feature of the app is its interactive map function where you can view all the bridleways across the UK, as well as record your own rides. As the app develops, there will be a more detailed map function. It will allow you to share and rate your routes with friends, upload pictures and comment on your experience for others to see. It unlocks a whole world of new hacking options and allows riders to connect and discover rides together.
Harry Hall Riding App
Free to download; £2.99 per month for SafeRide (free to Harry Hall One Club members)
This app is packed full of features, free to use and tracks your rides. You can track your distance and speed, you can even add pictures and videos. While out hacking, the LiveRide feature can share your location in real time with nominated friends and followers.
SafeRide helps you feel safer while out riding. It detects falls and lets your nominated contacts and loved ones know via a text message if you have had an accident, together with your exact location.
My Profile stores your hacking stats so you can track fitness and hours worked. Plus, you can manage your horse’s diary, from farrier and dentist visits to competition and vaccination dates.
Equi-pole, the Polework App
£3.99 plus in-app purchases
Equi-Pole, the Polework App, is a revolutionary app specifically designed to help both professional and amateur riders of all disciplines utilise and enjoy polework sessions as part of their training programme, either ridden or from the ground.
The app includes more than 100 exercises split over three difficulty levels and includes fun, theme-based layouts, plus professionally curated coach notes and pole-spacing guidelines. The main exercises come with listed aims, benefits and top as well as fun challenges to get the most out of each session.
Rider Guider
Free to download with four audios; subscription £9.99 per month, £19.99 half-yearly or £29.99 for a year (access to all audios and future uploads)
Rider Guider is a while-you-ride audio-guide app. You can create your own personalised playlist of informative audios to listen to as you ride. Choose from warm-ups, groundwork, flatwork or dressage. Simply select the audios you want and bring some new motivation into the arena.
With more than 50 audios and new ones being uploaded every month, this app is great to use between lessons with your trainer, helping you to brush up on your skills or maybe learn something new with your horse. Each audio gives you tips and hints as you ride.
Each is around 10 minutes long and there is a download option if your arena is in an area with poor wi-fi signal.
What3words
Free to download
What3words is a simple-to-use app that makes it quick and easy to find and share exact locations. What3words has divided the world into three-metre squares and given each square a unique combination of three words.
A great app to have whether you’re out hacking or travelling with your horse. If you fall off or your lorry breaks down, it will make getting help a lot less stressful.
Many UK emergency services are using this system. Find the three-word address for your location on the app. It works offline, ideal when there’s little or no signal.
Share your three-word address over the phone to the call handler and the emergency services can then coordinate a response directly to your exact location.
