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RE: [RC] ATTN: Folks who don't use HRMs - David LeBlanc

Heidi said:


Yeah, something like that...  And it is a good thing to learn 
to estimate the RPMs by listening to the hummmmm of the motor 
anyway--you'll find you pick up a lot of other stuff in the 
process that you miss when you just watch the tach.  Doesn't 
mean you can't benefit from the tach--you can. 
But you should still cultivate the "ear" or the "feel" to go without.


I used to always use a HRM, but now I rarely use it. I think it is probably
a better gizmo to have if you're new at all this. If you don't have the
experience to pick up what a HRM will tell you, then you're better off
having something to give you that feedback until you learn to correlate what
the horse is doing to the heart rate.

I still like to have them at vet checks, and would like to have a handheld
one so I know when really to call for the PR person. I'm pretty good about
guessing, but the gizmo is more accurate than I am. My accuracy gets worse
if I'm tired or distracted, but the HRM stays consistent.

It can also be a great training aid if used consistently. I think if I
started riding a new horse, I'd probably use the HRM more often.

I do agree that it is probably a fairly useless gizmo for someone that's
been doing endurance since before HRMs were even available. The other 98% of
us might find them more useful, esp. so the less experience you have.

Many other parallels - I don't need a tachometer to drive a stick shift, but
someone less experienced ought to have one (and I still like mine to work).
I don't need a torque wrench to get the nuts just tight enough and evenly
tight (unless I'm working on something delicate), but I've seen huge numbers
of problems because most mechanics ought to use one and don't. People with
lots of experience have less need for gizmos.


I determined then 
and there that I would learn to fly by the seat of my pants 
BEFORE I became reliant on all those terrific instruments.  


Yup, and there's tons of people dead because they didn't believe the
instruments. Flew right into the ground. Or stalled, esp on landing. You're
right that it's good to be able to deal with instrument failures, but
aircraft are safer with them than without. It's interesting if you look at
fatality statistics by size of aircraft - the bigger the aircraft the more
likely you are to live through a ride in it. The biggest difference is that
the larger the aircraft is, the better the instruments. Other factors do
come into play, like a pressurized aircraft can get above most weather.



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