Placeholder imagePerformance · Monitoring
Performance Monitoring System
Heart rate, speed and workload monitoring so training decisions are based on data rather than guesswork.
Price on request
EnquirePerformance & wearables
Horse wearables: the complete guide for riders and yards
Where devices are worn, what they measure, how the data is reviewed and when a wearable genuinely changes your training.
The short answer
Equine wearables record heart rate, speed, distance, stride and a measure of training load or recovery, usually from a girth, saddle pad, breastplate or leg position. They are worth having if you are building fitness and want to see recovery improve week to week. Fit decides data quality, and a wearable is not a health monitor: anything unexplained is a conversation with your vet.
What a wearable measures
Most equine wearables record some combination of heart rate, speed, distance, stride or step counts, and a measure of training load or recovery. Heart rate is the figure riders come for, because it shows how hard the horse is working rather than how hard the session looked. Everything else is context that helps you compare one week with the next.
Where devices are worn, and why it matters
Devices sit on a girth or surcingle, under the saddle pad, on a breastplate, or on a boot or leg strap. Fit decides data quality: a sensor that slips or loses skin contact produces gaps and spikes that get blamed on the horse. Whatever you choose has to be safe, comfortable, quick to fit in a yard routine and washable, because equipment that adds five minutes to tacking up stops being used.
Using the numbers sensibly
A single session tells you very little. The value is in the trend: how quickly heart rate comes down after canter work, whether the same gallop is getting easier, whether a horse coming back into work is progressing as planned. Judge the horse first and the data second. A number that disagrees with what you feel underneath you is a prompt to check the horse and the fit of the device, not to push on.
What wearables do not do
A wearable is not a health monitor and it does not detect lameness, pain or illness. If a horse feels wrong, is reluctant in work, or the numbers change sharply without explanation, that is a conversation with your vet. Used well, wearables help you avoid doing too much too soon; they are not a substitute for veterinary or physiotherapy assessment.
Apps, subscriptions and sharing
Ask how data is reviewed, whether an app or subscription is needed, and whether a trainer, coach or vet can be given access. For a professional yard, ask how many horses a single account supports and whether sessions can be compared across a string. We confirm the app and subscription position for a specific device before you order.
Fitting a device so the data is usable
Most poor data is a fitting problem. The sensor needs consistent contact in the same position every session, clear of anything that rubs, and fitted the same way by whoever tacks up. Clipped coats read differently from thick winter ones, and a wet or muddy horse can affect contact. Record the position you use and stick to it, or the figures are not comparable.
Comparing sessions fairly
Compare like with like: the same surface, similar going, similar weather, similar work. British winters make this harder than it sounds. A heart rate that is higher on a heavy surface in the wet is not a fitness problem. Note the conditions alongside each session and look at four weeks rather than four days.
Frequently asked questions
Will a wearable tell me if my horse is lame or unwell?
No. Wearables record work and recovery. Lameness, pain and illness need a vet, and unexplained changes in the numbers are a reason to have the horse looked at.
Do I need a subscription?
Some devices require an app subscription for full history or sharing. We confirm the app and subscription position for a specific device on enquiry.
Can a trainer or vet see the data?
Many systems allow shared access, and some support multiple horses on one account. Ask before ordering if that matters to you.
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Placeholder imagePerformance · Recovery
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Price on request
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