OK, my heart monitor results are now official. Sit back folks, I got some numbers for ya'll. And, yes, this is real science, Tom Iver's style. I've injected, dissected, inspected, and rejected (I love Arlo Guthrie's "Alice's Restaurant") to come up with those accurate figures that any Enron or Worldcom executive would appreciate. And, I've tried my best to keep it simple. I've used George Bush ("accounting is complicated") as a model, for understanding.
I have a 5 and a half year registered Paint mare. Yes, I realize she's not an Arab, but she is doing quite well and I've owned her since she was 6 months old. We've done nothing but trail riding on her, so those fast twitch and slow twitch muscles have developed for endurance since day one (another of Iver's theories). Anyway, here's the stats. Jennifer, my daughter, weighs in at 107 (with tack; yea, I know it's awesome) and me, I weigh in at 202 (with tack; a 6 pack short of being a heavyweight). In the interests of me seeing my 50th birthday next year, I've left out the stats on my wife, so, for now, we'll just go with me and Jen. The weather conditions and times of our training ride are quite similar on all sessions. Hot and sticky. We do get up early, because Florida is a steam bath this time of year, to start out with temperatures below 80. But, that does not last long. If we leave the house at 7 AM and ride for 4 hours, the temp goes up, the humidity goes down (not much). By the time we pull in, back to the barn, the temp is 85, the humidity 70 percent. When we leave the barn in the morning the temp is 74, the humidity 90 percent). These are averages, but they don't change much. Heart rates: I discount the first 30 minutes. Princess, my Paint, prefers the trot, and it's a good one. My Arabs have to canter to keep up with her. I'd estimate her speed to be close to 10 MPH, but it does vary depending on obstacles encountered while traveling, like bears, deer, alligators, and snakes (oh my!). In the case of deer flies attacking, her speed picks up to 12 MPH. With Jen, in this gait, her heart rates varies from 106 to 110 beats per minute. Quite impressive, especially after 3 hours of riding. I do love this horse! With me, 133 to 138 BPM. I can get her down below 130, but only if I slow her down some (slower trot). These numbers are pretty consistent. Broken down into percentages, this is what I've come up with. Using Jen's weight as the base, the difference between her's and mine is 88 per cent. Using my weight as the base, the difference is 47 percent (she's 47 per cent lighter than me or I'm 88 percent heavier than she is). The difference in the heart rate numbers follows (what formula is this guy using here?) as such: When I ride the BPM is 20.6 % higher, using 136 as the base number; when Jen rides her numbers are 24% lower than mine, using 108 BPM as the base. This translates into 4.611 lbs per one percentage point heart rate difference, using my numbers as the base, or 3.96 lbs per one percentage heart rate difference, using Jen's numbers as the base. Are you with me so far? lol. So, using my theory, for every 4.285 lbs (average of 4.611 & 3.96) difference, between riders, there will be a one percent depletion in the horse's performance with the heavier rider. Now, I know the heart rate isn't the only parameter in how a horse is doing, but it's still the best measurement we can use while riding. Plus, I have to have some rational reason for sending Roger all this money for these heart monitors. I have had similar results with the two Arabs. I don't have any numbers, for comparison, with my Saddlebred, because no one but me will ride "El Whacko." All I can say is his numbers are way up there, but I have found a gait that will keep him below 140. I won't even leave the house, riding him, without a heart monitor. He's the only horse I own that will go over 180 in a good moving canter. I could not imagine what his numbers would be in the mountains! The terrain where I live is quite flat. When the sand becomes deeper, the heart rate does increase, more so with me riding her than with Jen. Except for Dance Line, my Saddlebred, I have a difficult time getting any of my endurance horses over 150 BPM down here, even in a gallop. This tells me two things: 1) my guys are in good shape 2) I need to move to the mountains. So, that's it. You tiny hiney wimmen have a distinct advantage (as if you didn't know this already); I know it and now ya'll know it too. If you're at a ride, and you notice the heavyweight riders kind of taking it easy or taking extra time to sponge and cool off their horse, at the vet check, now you might understand why. Weight makes a heavy difference. haha. Next week, respiration! lol. cya, Howard (now you know!)
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