Thank you Hylofit for sponsoring this blog post and teaching us more about equine fitness and the importance of monitoring your horse’s heart rate.

The horse is an incredible athlete and partner. Whether you are doing dressage, barrel racing, reining, jumping, or cross country, it’s no secret that your equine partner is working hard to perform for you. If you have ever wondered just how hard your horse is training, Hylofit can tell you.

The idea for Hylofit came to life in 2016 when co-founder Eliane van Reesema was bringing her Grand Prix horse, Jewel’s Adelante, back from an injury. Eliane was concerned about riding the fine line between under training and pushing too hard. She was introduced to an equine heart rate specialist who was known for using heart rate as a training tool. Eliane began to train with heart rate and monitor Adelante’s progress, but was frustrated with not being able to see the data in real-time. Later that summer co-founders Kate and Laxmi joined forces to make Hylofit a reality.

What Is Hylofit?

Hylofit is a wearable device for both the horse and rider. It closely tracks performance and can provide insights about your horse’s health to help inform your training program. There are a few main components to Hylofit –  the horse wears a girth attachment with a transmitter and the rider’s transmitter is secured to a chest strap. Data is sent to the Hylofit app and web platform where it can be reviewed in real-time or after your ride.

What Is Hylofit? Equestrian Heart Monitoring

Real-time results are available on the phone and Apple Watch. Results include your heart rate, the horse’s heart rate, speed, and distance. This information can help you see if your horse is being pushed too hard (or not hard enough) and provide an understanding of their fitness level.

With every ride you are able to track your average speed, along with your horse’s lowest and highest heart rate. The zone feature on the app allows you set training goals based on intensity levels.

Tracking Progress & Wellbeing

Using Hylofit will allow you to discover your horse’s “normal” or resting heart rate. Any changes to the resting heart rate could indicate fear, stress, illness, pain, or excitement. This knowledge can help you monitor stress levels and let you know if something is off with how your horse is feeling.

As a rider, you will be able to track your heart rate and calories burned. Hylofit also syncs to Apple Health so your rides can be included in your overall health profile.

It’s exciting to see this technology finally enter the equestrian space. As a rider I can definitely see the benefit of using this data to reinforce my gut instincts with my horse and give me peace of mind when it comes to his wellbeing.

To learn more about Hylofit, visit them online at hylofit.com or follow along on Instagram @hylofit