Re: RE: Interval Training

["hn.heather" <hn.heather@wanadoo.fr>]

Hi Tom

Going back to your post a little while back about heart rates and you saying
we should be training our horses at higher heart rates.  I am about to start
interval training with my 10yr old gelding.  His program is a 90kms race
ride 02/04, then 80kms/80kms CTR 14/05 and then probably a 160kms race ride
end-June.  If I tell you what I've done in the past and what I plan to do
will you tell me if I'm headed in the right direction?

I do my IT on a 700m oval sand track.  I do twice-weekly sessions and I mix
aerobic & anaerobic work in the same session - not sure if this is good but
I've always done it.  I start out with 15mins trot warm-up and then go into
15min canter sessions, changing direction after each session.  At the end of
each session I do a sprint trying to push up the hr as far as I can.  Its
not easy getting him up over 200 and I'm nervous about going so fast on this
track as the surface is a bit iffy for really fast work.

Recovery time is turn-around and walk half-way round the track & then off
again.  If he recovers to under 100 in this time I go again.  I normally
start off with 3x 15mins aiming to work up to 8 sessions (ie 2 hours) in the
month prior to a big ride.

I have always in the past aimed at keeping hr in the 135-140 range during
the "resistance" work.  If I understand you correctly I should increase the
hr to 140-150, obviously this is also increasing the speed.  I normally take
water bottles onto the track as he gets quite hot doing this work.

Comments please before Sunday is possible when I'm going to the track for
the first session.

Re carbo loaders.  Can you explain when you feel these should be used.  What
distance?  What point on the ride?  Before vets?  At vets?  Etc.

Thanks a lot

Heather
SW France