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Re: [RC] RHR in youngsters - k s swigartFrom: Sisu West Ranch <ranch@xxxxxxxxxxx> That is indeed a very interesting horse. If I read your post right, she will drop to 44 after exercise and then speed up to 52. I have never seen that, but then as you say not all horses are usual. I have often seen fat and unconditioned horses I was evaluating for purchase with a 44 pulse. I would not worry to much about a 48 pulse on a never conditioned out of shape prospect. 52 would give me cause to look carefully for the reason before purchase. She is little (~600 lbs) and has the metabolism of a hummingbird. I do beg to differ with: "...seem to have some absurd requirements with respect to HR..." CTR is a different sport than endurance. The horses are not exercised as hard, and all the pulse parameters are taken after a standard amount of recovery time. (10 minutes in UMECRA). The pulse is being used as a relative indication of care of conditioning, care of riding, and fatigue. However, while they may be TRYING to measure level of condition, care in riding, and fatigue, what they are really measuring is (by his own statement later in the post) a low natural resting heart rate and calm disposition. Which is why _I_ consider the HR requirements in CTR to be absurd. They aren't measuring what they purport to be measuring. Even on hot humid days high placing horses with lightweight (under 180 lbs) riders will have a pulse between 36 and 44 bpm. Heavyweight (180) riders will have horses with 40-48 bpm. pulse recoverys. Since all endurance riders know that weight doesn't really matter, I have no explanation of this. What "all endurance riders" should know is not that weight doesn't matter but that weight doesn't make any difference in the OUTCOME of endurance rides. Since it is irrelevant at an endurance ride whether your horse "recovers" to 44 or to 48 (as they are both below the usual criteria of 60-64), the explanation is that since HR is not a major determining factor in the outcome of endurance rides, the effect of weight carried on HR isn't going to be a major determining factor in the outcome of endurance rides. And the reason I know that HR doesn't matter all that much in the outcome of endurance rides is that my 600 lb horse with a RHR of 52 has no trouble carrying a heavyweight rider to top ten finishes in endurance. Of course, she wouldn't stand a chance at a CTR. CTR is not wrong, it is just a different game. Indeed, a different game that measures different things. But wrong to be measuring level of condition, care in riding, and fatigue based on absolute HR numbers. However, I would also agree that there isn't any better way to "measure" these things for all the horses that show up at a ride because there is, indeed, no way to determine what is normal for an individual horse, so everybody gets compared to some mythical average horse instead. Perhaps the reason that there are horses that excel at one of these sports that are unsuitable for the other is that CTR horses are rewarded for being average, and endurance horses are more likely to excel (even) if they are exceptional. kat Jurassic Park =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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