Improve Your Horse Riding Skills with Video

You’ve probably read about learning the proper position in the saddle, and your riding instructor is more than likely making lots of suggestions on how to improve your leg, seat and rein aids. You know that you’re supposed to maintain a straight line from your ear, down through your shoulder, hip and heel to maintain a secure riding seat. And you are learning how to use your legs, hands and body to control your horse.

Besides your riding instructor, an action cam/smartphone video can be a good friend in improving your riding.

By mounting your smartphone (and using the PlotMyTrot app) on your chest or helmet you will notice on playback how your horse is reacting to your aids. Is your horse resisting in any way, with behaviors like tossing its head, hollowing its back or switching its tail in agitation?

Yes, you are probably aware of what is going on with your riding and your horse as you ride. But there is something about watching it back that really helps you picture what is going on. Don’t be too hard on yourself though. Do notice what you are doing right. Are your hands nice and steady? Does your horse look happy and relaxed at the canter or lope? Can you see something that has improved over time? Build on what is working, and video yourself riding again after a time so you can see your progress.

Saddle up and try all of PlotMyTrot's incredible features from only £5.99 per month.

A Guide to the 10 Best Places to Horse Ride in the UK!

There are more beautiful Horse Riding tracks in the UK than you can shake a lead reign at … which made putting together a list of 10 of the Best Places to Horse Ride in the UK a real challenge! Thanks to the Ordnance Survey and the National Parks website, we've collated ten beautiful places to go exploring with your horse.

1. The North York Moors:

The North York Moors National Park has almost 500 miles of bridleways, from old railway routes to forest tracks and open heather moorland. The Newtondale Horse Trail is a 35.5-mile circular route, through a dramatic gorge, that makes a stunning 2- or 3-day ride.

2. Pennine Bridleway:

Largely off road, this historical trail offers a variety of riding, from gentle rolling landscape through to more challenging hills. Connecting the Peak District, South Pennines, Yorkshire Dales and Cumbria, there's 200 miles of fantastic riding to be enjoyed.

3. South Downs Way:

Explore some of England's finest countryside, stretching from historic Winchester to the white cliffs at Eastbourne. From short hacks to epic challenges, the South Downs Way provides miles of designated bridleways, meaning you can ride off road for hours - or even days!

4. Strath Brora, Sutherland:

Experience the dramatic beauty of the Scottish Highlands and follow an old trail high in to the hills above Loch Brora. The ride offers stunning views and the opportunity to spot red deer and osprey. 

5. Dartmoor:

A little place we like to call Home! The wild Dartmoor landscape is completely unforgettable. Ride out on the open moor and really stretch your horse's legs, or follow woodland trails and bridleways for a gentle trot. 

6. Holy Island, Northumberland:

The white sandy of beaches of the Holy Island of Lindisfarne offer enjoyable rides along the beach, with the impressive backdrop of Lindisfarne castle. Cut off from the mainland twice daily, both an island and a picturesque village, there's lots to see.

7. Studland Beach, Dorset:

With three miles of sandy beaches to enjoy there are also cliff top rides overlooking the impressive Dorset coastline and around Old Harry Rocks. With backdrops like this for your ride and plenty of sand to run on it's a great experience for horse riders. Be aware that beach riding permits are not available all year round.

8. The New Forest:

Renowned for ‘wild’ ponies which roam free across the Forest, exploring this unique place on horseback seems only natural. 

9. Radnor Forest Trail, Powys:

This trail offers riders glorious views of tranquil Welsh countryside - ideal for those wanting to step off the beaten track and explore parts of Wales that are virtually untouched.

10. Peddars Way and Norfolk Coast Path:

Ride along a historic Roman road, along low cliffs and extensive sandy beaches. Separate riding and walking routes are available and there's something to suit every rider, from short hacks to longer full day excursions. 

Understanding Your Horse's Ears.

Observe how your horse’s ears are positioned.

A horse has 16 muscles in his ear so he can move them all over the place. A horse has excellent hearing, and the ears point in the direction of the horse’s attention.

It seems that when a horse is interested in something, it pricks up its ears and swivels them towards whatever has caught its attention.

Horses will hold their ears in different ways to pick up different signals from their environment and indicate how they feel about what’s going on around them. Horses can move both their ears at one time, or move them individually.

Ears that are slightly forward indicate that a horse is relaxed. If your horse’s ears are pricked forward, he may be feeling interested in, or maybe even threatened by, his environment. 

If his ears indicate that he is feeling threatened, his nostrils will flare and his eyes will widen.

If one ear is back, then your horse is likely listening to something behind him.

If your horse’s ears are to the side, that means that he is concentrating yet relaxed.

Ears that are flattened back are a clear sign that your horse is upset. If you are near your horse when you see this, move a safe distance away to protect yourself from injury.

If you are riding your horse and notice him putting his ears back, it could mean several things. He may be doing something he doesn’t want to do or something he finds difficult. He could also be uncomfortable due to a badly fitting saddle, bridle or bit, hard rider hands pulling on the bit, or a rider with an unbalanced, bouncy seat. He could also have some pain in his back or maybe his teeth are bothering him.

Pinned ears should not be confused with ears pointed in the direction of the rider, as some horses will do that when they concentrate very hard and focus on their rider.

PlotMyTrot is a great tool for analysing your horses wars when mounted on the riders chest.

Horse and Rider Magazine - Horsey Tech Buyer's Guide

We were thrilled when the folks over at Horse and Rider Magazine featured PlotMyTrot as a 'Great Horsey Gadget' in May's issue of their monthly magazine!

PlotMyTrot is the latest horse rider's companion; ride and record your route's using your Smartphone or tablet, share with friends and family, manage and view online. Ideal for eventing, cross country, hacking and other equine sports. PlotMyTrot provides the ability to create routes by combining video and GPS straight from your Smartphone meaning you are always prepared to capture your greatest sporting achievements or the breath-taking moments you least expected.

Android Smartphone Mount for Horse Riding

Smartphones are the perfect filming device when riding a horse, as they are pocket size and have built-in optical image stabilisation. Unlike a handheld camera where the footage becomes a 30-second tribute to the sky or ground, a smartphone can be fixed to a helmet, pole or chest harness to hold it steady and allow you to concentrate on riding. Kind of important!

There are oodles of smartphone accessories that you can buy. We’ve researched quite a few to find the best angle when riding. This is the equipment that works for us:

Velocity Clip and Chest Mount - we don’t have the chest harness to test, but have seen footage using the chest harness when riding a horse. Its a great angle to view your ride from, however the entire frame is of your horse’s neck. And also when you ride, your moving your head to take in scenery not your chest, so it will be a completely static view the entire time. Rider's preference with this one.

Velocity Clip and Head Mount - this is a easy and no-fuss way to record when riding. If you don’t ride in a helmet (we recommend you ride in a helmet!), then the head mount can fit over a cap. You need to make sure its titled so it has your horse’s head and neck in the foreground to give perspective when filming. If you’re going for a leisurely trail ride through the bush, you’ll need to switch it up.

Pole Monopod Mount - Last but certainly not least, we find this is the best mount for riding. Its not for everyone, as you have to ride one handed the entire time, so if you have a horse above your skills, it might not be wise. It gives you a range of angles, where you can film an aerial shot of yourself riding along and your fellow riders.

Once home, it’s the moment of truth where you can watch your captured video/image files from your trip and relive your ride. No doubt you’ll have a library of video files of your trip, some will be great and you'll want to show friends and family! Remember, with PlotMyTrot there's no huge video files - simply generate a link and share away via Facebook or via email. And, if you have the skills, you should compile the highlights of your video footage and put it together into a video montage.

Have fun!

Top Tips for Optimising PlotMyTrot

So here you are trying to keep up with the ever-changing technology and you recently started to collect your data digitally though your Smartphone or tablet device. Beside all of the great advantages that this change has, you will probably quickly realise a few not so great things. 

The battery can drain quickly when the device is constantly being used.  The more you use your mobile device, the more prone you are to dropping and damaging it. 

The goal of this blog post is to provide PlotMyTrot users some solutions to these problems.

Maximize battery life

Out of all the problems, short battery life is probably the most common. Spending long days away from a power outlet or vehicle can leave you with little to no battery power on your smart device. Data collection done on your cell phone makes this even more of an issue. Here are some simple steps you can take to help retain power throughout the day.

Features like Bluetooth and Wi-Fi are great but if you are not using it then it is unnecessarily draining your battery. Turn these features off when they are not in use.

If you are going to be working in a remote place where you know you will not have a data signal, turn off you data connection. Important Note: I would not recommend simply turning on airplane mode, because this mode turns off the internal GPS.

Close any apps running in the background. For iOS devices (iPhone/iPad), double-click the Home button to view the multitasking bar. Then swipe the apps upwards to close the apps running in the background. For Android devices – go to settings, applications, and then manage applications. Then tap on the app and select force stop. There are also third party apps that have auto-kill features.

Lower the brightness settings. This may work for you since most data collection is done outside during daylight hours.

Adjust the fetching frequency of apps on your mobile device. The more apps you have that periodically go and fetch data on the internet, the more battery power will be consumed. Purchase a battery backup. They are available for pretty much every Android and iOS device out there. Backup battery packs allow users to charge their device in the field when not near a vehicle or power outlet.

Protect your device

Protecting your smart device can often be overlooked when first purchasing. If you have ever dropped your phone or tablet and had the screen spider web with cracks, then you've probably learned the lesson the hard way. Mobile devices can get pretty expensive, so spending a little extra money for a good quality case should be a simple choice. 

When using a mobile device to do work, the cost of the device is not the only thing you should consider when and if the device breaks.Time lost not working and potential data loss should also be considered.

Increase the reliability and accuracy of the devices GPS

The accuracy and reliability of the internal GPS in mobile devices is probably one of the most overlooked issues a mobile data collector faces. While the GPS on most devices are pretty good, there are instances where they can be non-functioning and unreliable. To eliminate these problems an external GPS receiver will ensure that you have to make far less geo-position corrections and that you get the best reliability available.

There are a lot of different options available on the market. Some units connect directly to the device and are generally powered by the mobile device. Others have their own internal batteries and utilise Bluetooth technology to stay connected.

These are just a few ways to optimise mobile data collection.  For all of those actively in the field, we would love to hear your ideas and contributions. Please post your feedback and let us know what works for you.

PlotMyTrot Android App (V1.0) is now Available for Download!

After months of hard work, we’re happy to announce the launch of the official PlotMyTrot Android app! Record Video, Create Routes, Capture Audio, and more — the power of PlotMyTrot, all on your favorite Android device.

And it’s free!

The app works with Android 2.3 and up. 

Go download the Android app now!

A little update for iPhone users, too.

Hey, iPhone user, are you feeling left out? Don’t worry, we’ve got an iPhone app on route! Stick with us for updates on when that will be released or visit www.PlotMyTrot.com and sign up for our monthly newsletter.