An interview with the DressMyHorse app creators

A couple a days ago as I was scrolling through my Facebook feed I saw that someone had shared the link to this new app, where you can upload a photo of your horse and try on different matchy sets, instead of having to ask on different Facebook groups for photos of other people's horses wearing a certain set. This app was definitely built for people like myself who have a matchy addiction, so naturally I was very curious so I immediately downloaded the app and got to work. After a few days of playing with different sets on Basse, I knew this had been a fantastic idea which is why I went to their website to read more about the people behind the app. According to their about page, Sonja and Neil are "horse owners and self-confessed horsewear and tack shopaholics" who decided to build the app "because of an awkwardly red chestnut and its indecisive owner." I love this, because finally someone has understood the matchy problems we face (can't decide what colour to buy...)  and done something about it.

So all you have to do is upload a picture of your horse and then you can 'try' on the latest colour schemes from the Le Mieux, BR and Equestrian Stockholm range. I think other brands will be added soon. In fact I was so impressed with the app and the idea behind that I fired off a quick email to the creators and asked if they'd want to be featured in this blog post. I was going to blog about the app anyway since I find this so exciting, but to have the opportunity to ask Sonja and Neil a few questions about their unique app was even better!

Tell me more about yourselves?
We live in a small village in rural Nottinghamshire, UK, in a beautiful part of the world known as the Vale of Belvoir. We've got two border terriers and a long-haired dachshund, and of course horses. We've got a 13-year-old retired Holstein mare, her gorgeous 2-year-old homebred Hanoverian filly, and a lively 6-year-old German Riding Pony gelding. Building DressMyHorse isn't our day jobs though... but what we do has certainly helped, as we work in technology, data analytics and marketing.

What inspired you to create the app? I read that you had a chestnut horse who weren't sure about what colour matchy sets would suit?
The inspiration for the app came when we bought Chili, the chestnut German Riding Pony. We'd never had chestnuts before, and especially in autumn he turns a very vibrant shade of red. We mocked up a few looks in Photoshop to help us decide what to get for him. When the next collections came out, we started all over again, and noticed that a lot of people in Facebook groups seemed to have the same struggle that we were having. That's when the idea came to Sonja... we could build an app for that!

How long has it taken you to create the app?
Well you could say that it's our baby, because it's taken about 9 months 😄 But to be honest, we didn't put too much time in at the beginning, and it's only in the last few months that we have been working on it during most of our spare time. But having horses and day jobs, the spare time seems to be very limited.

What has been your favorite part about this whole thing so far?
We launched a few days ago at the LeMieux National British Dressage Championships. We absolutely loved working with the great team at Horse Health (LeMieux), because they were so supportive in helping to promote the app. In particular, we were thrilled to see our video on the big screens around the ground. But most of all, our favourite part has been seeing users getting so much out of the app, and discovering the great looks that they are building and sharing on social media. We feel like we've built something that really connects with other horse owners, and that is a great feeling.

You already have Le Mieux, BR and Equestrian Stockholm products on the app. Are you planning on including any other brands?
Yes - watch this space! We will be adding more collections over the coming weeks, and we are in discussions with a number of exciting brands.

What do you see for the future with this app?
So far it's been quite UK-focused, so we will be rolling it out to other countries. We already have a German language option built into the app, and we would be keen to support other languages too. We've had some great suggestions already from our users and from brands about how the app could be expanded to other tack and rider fashion. We have also had people say that it would be great to be able to click to buy the products once they've made their perfect look; we're looking into this, but we'd love to know what your readers think. We are open to all new ideas, and will prioritise the ones that our users want the most, so we'd encourage everyone to use the 'Make a suggestion' button within the app to tell us what they'd like to see.

What are your social media accounts? Where can people find out more about you guys?
We're on Facebook and Instagram (@dressmyhorse), and of course we have a website which also has the app store links on it. We're always delighted to see the looks that people are creating, so please do tag us or #dressmyhorse when you share your looks with your friends.

I hope you guys like the app, and it would be great to hear any feedback and ideas!

If anyone is unsure what colours to put on their horses or what style would suit their horse, I really recommend the app DressMyHorse, it is completely free. (Warning: you can easily spend an hour on it, no problem!)