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RE: [RC] WEC: final loops - heidi

But as far as selecting or breeding horses based on resting heart rate -
I don't have solid numbers or statistics. It' seems logical that a large
heart will give the horse a performance advantage, and the best horse I
ever rode had a 24 resting heart rate .

Can't say that I have statistics, either--just observations from vetting
several thousand horses.  But my take on this subject is that on one hand,
a low resting heart rate is a part of the equation (and as Steph infers,
may mean a large stroke volume), but that there are also other factors
involved.  I would not go so far as to say that a horse with a resting 24
is superior to a horse with a resting 36, but I would go so far as to say
that you DO want to find a horse with a resting 36 or lower, and then you
also want to see whether his heart rate elevates much due to "normal"
stimulation--change in social setting, etc.  One of the negative selective
factors, IMO, is a horse whose pulse will spike up over such things as
simply being led into a crowd, etc., no matter how low his resting
rate--these are horses that give themselves jolts of adrenaline for
reasons that don't warrant it, and they are apt to have issues.

Bottom line--yes, a resting heart rate on the low end of clinically normal
is a good thing, but it also has to be coupled with a metabolism that
"doesn't sweat the small stuff" and all the other necessary metabolic
features of a good endurance horse in order to ensure great recoveries and
that "cool-running engine"...

Heidi



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Replies
Re: [RC] WEC: final loops, Dabney Finch
RE: [RC] WEC: final loops, StephTeeter