I'm not arguing that the HHHRMs can't work on every horse, however
the folks that need to be reading this probably aren't. If there aren't enough
volunteers, sometimes that is the person who gets the HHHRM and a crash
course on how to turn it off and on. so we have folks with no clue trying
to operate these things. (sometimes!) I need to replace my HRM and I would like
to have one of the newer ones with the thin sensors, if some one selling these
things was at a ride, and would try it on my mare to make sure that it will
work, I'd gladly buy one, then I would know where to tell the P&R person to
put it on her side.
> If they only have
one, and pick the HHHRM, then how do I vet in? I > always have to look
for the person with the stethoscope to do it the > old fashion way, the
HHHRMs have only worked on my horse once, and > then it was
wrong. And my horse is not the only one with this problem.
I
could have made a lot of money off people that say "HRM's work on my
horse." Being a nice guy I've never collected ;-) . Roger explained it
well. There are three issues, placement, polarity (you might have to
turn it upside down) and operator competence. The sensor is not the
problem - 99.9% of the time it's the person using it.
Kidding
aside. The HRM doesn't measure heart rate. It measures the electromagnetic
radiation generated with the nerve firing that controls the heart. It does
the same thing an EKG does. There are subtleties associated with this
radiation and it does vary a little from individual to individual. The
operator needs to understand this to use the sensor properly. It's no
different than an stethoscope. A poor operator with a stethoscope will
make the same mistakes - but most likely the rider will not detect
them.
Truman
--
"A mathematician is a device for turning
coffee into theorems."
