Re: LSD Training, Stupid Questions

Tina Hicks (hickst@puzzler.nichols.com)
Thu, 21 Nov 1996 07:37:44 -0600

At 4:49 PM 11/20/96, DreamWeaver wrote:
It is
>interesting, he can trot at 120, then go to a canter at the same speed and
>drop his HR to 108.
I have found the same thing to be true - lends a little credence IMO to not
necessarily following the old "trot trot and only trot on the trail"
credence. For some (many?) horses it is easier to canter than to trot wide
open. Comments?? Anyone else see this on their HRM? (Maybe this is some of
that resonant riding Lew Hollander is talking about???)

>Has anybody else noticed that the longer you get in the ride, the lower and
>more stable the HR becomes?
This is one of the things I had the hardest time believing when I started
this sport. (Course you have to remember I was used to thinking in terms of
20 meter circles - not -miles-). I just couldn't fathom that it could take
*10 miles* or more for the heart rate to settle in! I figured that I or the
horse would be just be dead by then HR :-). However, the more fit Embers
becomes that point seems to get farther and farther down the trail (maybe
indicating he is ready for a 100 miler???? <g>) Typically by the first
check (let's say 12 miles or so) his HR was settled in to working rates.

However, at the last ride, I didn't feel like he had truly settled until a
full 25 miles into the ride. Not that his rates/recoveries weren't very
good before that point - it just seemed to take that long till I got that
"I can go like this forever" feeling from him and the HRM readings evened
out on the trail.

Tina
Embers & Tony
hickst@nichols.com