Ridecamp: Re: [RC] Saga of the Heart Monitor

Title: Re: Saga of the Heart Monitor

Howard,

If anaerobic status is the worry, then my question to the vets here and any ride vet is, does a high heart rate necessarily indicate that the horse is working anaerobically? IOW, if the horse is "jazzed" or if it just spooked at a little purple flower and the heart rate zooms past 140, is it working anaerobically. My hunch says no. Wasting energy? Yes.

You touched on another heart worry, and that is that the horse will work itself into trouble before the rider knows it, the clues are so subtle -- it's what we mean when we say that the horse has a lot of heart. That's separate from fitness but something that requires more attention than anything else.

As far as keeping weight on, I think that goes hand in hand with energy usage and is a definite concern. If ya can convince him to waste less energy, then maybe..... I don't know, this is all just conjecture on my part. I laugh when I read someone asking if the quiet horse they're looking at is a good endurance prospect. Since my mare is the opposite, I think quiet is good for all the reasons we're discussing. But quiet is just not as much fun, is it Howard?

Deanna


---------------------------------------
on 5/23/02 11:54 AM, Howard Bramhall at hwb67@xxxxxxx wrote:
> > Deanna: 
> >
> > Oh, I truly believe Dance is fit, very fit, or was when I had him in endurance shape.  But, what worries me is, if his high heart rate is accurate, and I'm not done verifying that it is, then he was in an anaerobic status while going down that trail for a lot longer than he should have been.  And, that's my fear.   
> >
> > One of the problems I had with Dance, during his short lived endurance career, was keeping weight on him.  And, trust me, I fed him, wormed him and did everything I could to keep it on him safely, especially after his crash at that one ride.  I felt that back then, and still feel today, lack of weight was one of our problems that contributed to his crashing.  He had that greyhound look to him.  He doesn't look that way now.  He's an Adonis to look at! 
> >
> > I haven't given up on him, not at all.  But, with the heart monitor I feel much better about the whole thing, and if he does enter a ride again it will be a LD and I'll have that monitor on him. 
> >
> > Make no mistake, he is an incredible horse and he loves to be in front.  When we train at home, Dance always sets a good pace, and he leads the way.  I think it's because of him that my Paint has this incredible extended trot.  He taught it to her when she was very young, in our pasture.  I'll keep ya'll updated.  Like I said, for newbies, this might be the one purchase that will let them know exactly what is going on. If you're like me, and worry about what is going on with that incredible heart that horses do have, the heart monitor might save you some grey hairs. 
> >
> >   
> >
> > cya, 
> >
> > Howard
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > ---------------------------
> > Howard wrote:
> > ....It told me that Dance Line, my beloved 17 hand American Saddlebred, has
> > the most rapidly fluctuating heart beat of any other animal on the
> > planet and has hit numbers like 168 just while warming his butt up, in the
> > trot, around the arena.  If I would have known this two years ago, I would
> > never have done those 50 mile endurance rides on him.  Ever.  I'm afraid my
> > buddy's endurance days are over; I doubt if I'll go back to doing even a LD
> > ride on him.  Those numbers are thru the roof!
> >  
> > .... No wonder he was so erratic when I went thru a vet check, even the pre
> > ride check.  He sees a fly, his heart rate rises faster than Spider Man
> > climbing a tall building.  And the rate seems to come down just as fast as
> > it went up.
> >