There are scores of horse-related applications for smart phones. Starting today with the Check Out This App!, we’ll review a few that cross our palms.
Our marketing director, Emily Thomas Luciano, takes the reins for this premier post. She writes:
Horse 360
$1.99-$9.99 (depending on the bundle)
for iPhone and Android
Horse 360 has been around for a few years (I’ve had it since 2012), and has evolved a bit since its inception. It started solely as a trivia game that focused on equine anatomy that progressed in difficulty with each level. Now, they’ve added a “vet talk” aspect of the app that helps users better understand the sometimes complicated lingo and 
vocabulary that our veterinarians use. I’ve had a blast with this app over the past couple of years. It’s helped me improve my knowledge of my horse’s anatomy and is a must on road-trips.
Ride Alert
$7.99
iPhone and Android
My dad, Jim Thomas, who works and trains horses alone 99% of the time, actually turned me on to this app. It works by monitoring your activity while you move and in the event that you should have an accident and are injured or incapacitated, will AUTOMATICALLY send an Alert to your chosen buddies – friends, family members, colleagues, etc.
Set your Ride Alert App to Auto Motion Mode by pressing the START BUTTON when you set out on a journey, cycling, skiing, running, on horseback, etc. Your mobile phone now detects movement.
If you are moving, so is your mobile and the App is happy that all is well. If an accident occurs and/or you stop moving, your App thinks that something is wrong and after 60 seconds or more (depending on how you set it up), Ride Alert warns you, audibly and with vibration that it has stopped moving and is about to send an AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY ALERT message to all your active buddies.
Equuiz
Free
iPhone only (Android is in production)
This is a fun little app developed by SmartPak, similar to Horse 360 because of the trivia aspect, but it expands past anatomy and into four categories: History, Health, Colors and Breeds, and Fun Facts. From the outside it looks fluffy, but you’d be surprised at the difficulty of some of the questions! Answer questions correctly within the time limit to earn ribbons in four different categories.
Beware, it can be addicting!
Maddy adds:
My kids say I don’t deserve to use a smart phone. My ineptness and discomfort is that complete.
But I have found a few apps of note. Three are in various stages of development.
A handy US Public Lands app for $2.99. It can tell you where and under which specific agency you’re riding. That’s helpful since different lands have different policies. National park, US forest, Bureau of Land Management, National monument are all handily color-coded. With so much public land in western states, it’s helpful or, at the vary least, fun to surf.
StretchYourHorse app. Ilene Nessenson is seeking crowd funding for this app to provide stretching exercises and discussion at your fingertips. To include videos and explanations. Check out her kickstarter page here.
Don’t forget Stablefax. The horse management app that allows you to place all your horses’ care needs and specifics on one app and share them with whoever you’d like. It’s now available on iTunes for iPhone and iPad, $4.99.
Stay tuned for more information. Interested in reviewing it? Let us know! Click here to contact us.
Thank you for writing about our phone app, we are so happy Jim told you about it Emily.
I used to only turn it on when I was on a skittish horse, after an episode last fall, i use it every time I mount.
Plus I should have turned it on last night when I went to feed: rather stupidly to separate 2 horses I ran out to the pasture in the dark (pitch black), they followed of course, I had their supper, and bowled me over, luckily just a grazed knee and some bruises but it could have been much worse! A friend of mine had a foot in the face.
These are great and very useful apps! Thanks for the recommendations.
I would like to take a moment to tell you about this great new app tied to an activity tracker we’re creating.
Equisense, a French startup, is currently developing Balios, which analyzes your horse’s stride, bascule, soundness and more while you ride and gives you updates on your smartphone! Plus you can keep track of shoeing, dental work, chiropractic visits, and more so your horse never gets behind schedule!
Data is collected from a sensor that you attach to your horse’s girth.
A Kickstarter will be launched November 4th to make this tracker a reality. The team would also like feedback from equestrians for the final product and app. To learn more, visit the site http://equisense.com/ where you can sign up for updates or become an Ambassador.
I really hope you will consider taking a look at the project.