Record a training with your Apple Watch in Remote mode, with your iPhone along, or in Standalone mode, with only your watch while your iPhone stays at the stable. If Equilab isn't on your watch yet, see Set up Equilab on your Apple Watch first.
Remote or Standalone: what each mode records
The table below compares the two ways to record with your Apple Watch.
| Remote mode | Standalone |
Your iPhone | Comes with you and records the training | Stays behind |
Plan | Free (the default mode) | Premium |
Saved in the training | Everything, including gaits | Time, distance, average speed and path, no gaits |
Safety Tracking and Polar heart rate | Yes, with Premium | No |
Horse | The horse you chose on your iPhone | None until you add it with Edit |
Record in Remote mode (with your iPhone)
On your iPhone, open the Track tab, tap Horse and choose the horse you're riding.
Open Equilab on your Apple Watch and start tracking.
Ride with your iPhone on you. Don't swipe Equilab away on your iPhone during the ride: the training is interrupted even though your watch still shows it as running.
When you're done, swipe left on your watch to stop the training, then tap Done, not Discard, so the training is saved.
Your watch then shows a summary, and the training is in Equilab on your iPhone.
During the ride, your watch shows the time, distance and average speed. Swipe right to see the time in each gait: walk, trot and canter, and tölt for the horse type Icelandic Horse.
Record without your iPhone (Standalone)
With Apple Watch Standalone, you can leave your iPhone at the stable. When you want gaits or want your Safety Contacts to follow your training, turn off Apple Watch Standalone and take your iPhone along, so your watch records in Remote mode.
⭐ Standalone is a Premium feature. On the free plan, you record in Remote mode with your iPhone along. See Start Premium or a free trial.
On your iPhone, open Equilab and go to Profile > Settings.
Turn on Apple Watch Standalone.
At the stable, open Equilab on your Apple Watch and start tracking.
When you're done, swipe left on your watch to stop the training, then tap Done, not Discard, so the training is saved.
Keep Equilab open on your watch until the training has uploaded.
Upload a Standalone training
A Standalone training uploads from your watch after the ride, so keep Equilab open on the watch until the upload is done. With cellular service on the watch, the training uploads by itself, which can take a while with a weak connection or a long training. Without cellular service, the training uploads through your iPhone's Wi-Fi or cellular data once the watch reconnects to your iPhone.
While trainings wait to upload, a cloud icon with an upward arrow shows in the bottom-right corner of the watch screen, with the number of waiting trainings. When the icon disappears, the upload is done, and your iPhone shows a notification you can tap to edit the training.
The upload icon on your Apple Watch
Add the horse and details, or discard a training
To add the horse to a Standalone training, or to add a note or the ground type to any watch training, open the training in Equilab on your iPhone and tap Edit. See Edit a saved ride.
To discard a training on your watch, in either mode, stop the training as in the steps above, then tap Discard. A discarded training isn't saved in Equilab. To delete a training that's already saved, see Delete a ride.
If something went wrong
Open the section that matches what happened. The checks are in the order our support team runs them.
If the training stopped or was interrupted
If the training stopped or was interrupted
If a watch training stopped early or was interrupted, try these steps in order.
Force close Equilab on your Apple Watch, then open it again.
Restart your iPhone and your Apple Watch: turn both off for 10 to 15 minutes, then turn them on again. This refreshes the connection between them.
Keep Equilab open on your iPhone. Swiping it away interrupts the training, even though your watch still shows it as running.
Check that Background App Refresh is on for Equilab in the Watch app on your iPhone: see Set up Equilab on your Apple Watch.
Check your iPhone's settings: see My ride stopped recording or was cut short.
If the training doesn't show in Equilab
If the training doesn't show in Equilab
A watch training can take a while to show in Equilab. Give it some time, then look for the training on your iPhone: in the feed on the Home tab, under Trends > All trainings, in the Calendar tab or under Profile > Trainings. For a Standalone training, keep Equilab open on the watch until the cloud icon in the bottom-right corner disappears.
If the training still doesn't show, see A ride or horse is missing.
If the training has no gaits
If the training has no gaits
A Standalone training never has gaits, because the watch doesn't have the sensors to detect them. To get gaits, turn off Apple Watch Standalone in Profile > Settings and take your iPhone along. If a Remote mode training has no gaits, see My ride has no gaits.
If nothing helped, contact support with the date and time of the training, whether you used Remote or Standalone, and what you've already tried.
Still need help? Contact us in the app: go to Profile > Settings > Contact Support, or email support@equilabapp.com.