We wear a Fitbit, step counter or sports watch every day to map our own health. But how great would it be to do this for your horse too? As an owner or trainer, you want the best for your horse. Luckily, there are measuring tools that give an overview of your training, so that you can improve the condition and balance of your horse. Are you curious how a training sensor and horse app can help you? Read more about it in this blog post.
Improve your horse’s condition
We all want a straight and collected horse. A healthy, happy, balanced horse. That’s something that we, as riders, can hamper, but also something we can improve. Although how things feel can tell us a lot, a training sensor with an app can give a clear view of the horse’s condition and balance. It tells you whether you, the rider, are training evenly, how regular your horse’s rhythm is and whether your horse is developing more power over a longer period.
Is your horse balanced?
Every horse naturally develops a certain asymmetry. Just like every person, a horse is left- or right-handed, both in the forelegs and the hind legs. They also naturally bend to the left or right and carry more weight on the forelegs than the hind legs. This creates an uneven distribution of weight and leads to imbalance.
If you want to know how balanced your horse is, start training with a training sensor. The Equestic SaddleClip is a training sensor that will provide information on your horse’s balance. The app will warn you if one diagonal is weaker or if your horse carries his weight to one side. Both are indications of potential injury or overload. It measures the slightest changes, long before you can feel them.
The training sensor measures your horse’s balance in three different ways:
- The difference in tempo between the two diagonals
- The difference in push-off between the two diagonals
- The difference in landing between the two diagonals
The more collected a horse is, the more powerful the push-off will be. The Equestic SaddleClip analyses the development of your horse’s push-off power over a longer period, giving you an objective picture. As your training level increases, you can work on making the rhythm more consistent. Measure and analyse the rhythm in each gait and see how it develops over a longer period.
Ensure balanced training with a horse app
Do you ride more on the left or the right rein? Your horse has a preferred side, and so do you. Perhaps you are convinced that you train equally on the left and right rein. Take the plunge and make it totally transparent by riding with a training sensor. The SaddleClip is a small device that will not be in the way while riding. It precisely measures how much you ride on the left and right rein. You can then be sure that you are training evenly.
Avoid injuries to your horse
Horse riding is a sport that involves a lot of feeling. However, you can sometimes be wrong about your feelings, no matter how much experience you have. Sometimes, an incipient injury can occur because you consistently sit a little too much to the left or right. Or train too much on the left or right rein. You are unintentionally and unconsciously unbalancing your horse, and thus increasing the risk of an injury. You probably don’t have an instructor watching you every time you train, and maybe you don’t have mirrors in your arena. And even if you do, an injury that we can’t see at first glance could still occur.
A training sensor and monitoring app can ensure that you notice your horse’s condition and balance in time. This sensor measures your horse’s movement in detail, giving you a timely warning of possible injury.
Measure your horse’s condition with the training sensor and horse app
Essentially, it lets you concentrate on improving the condition and balance of your horse. If you want to be sure that you’re on the right track, start training based on data. An analysis of your horse can help you improve your training immensely.
Read more about how to train your horse effectively with training sensor.