 |
[RC] Trot Speed. - Roger RittenhouseI think a good Theory/book was written by Lew Hollander and was also supported by John Depart.. has to do with the synergist of a gait. What is the best speed for that horse. That is a gait/speed at a HR where all the systems are working in a balanced harmony. Sort of the energizer bunny. None of mine are the same. The GPS I use the Timex is quite accurate. I used my $20 Radio Shack pedometer set up for the stride length at a working trot at 8 min mile that's 7.x mph- Turns out my stride length is the same as my horse. So I can test the GPS on me along with the pedometer. They were within acceptable error, as .1 to .3 mph difference. Since I no longer run for MILES -- I took off on the horse to prove out the theory that Lew and John wrote about many years ago. And to use the techno tools to help proof this. I have done this many times over the years. Now with the GPS I can eliminate the 'how fast I am going ' error or question. He drops into a dead on easy swing trot at 8 min mile - like he can go all day long.. his HR is about 110 to 115 on the flat. The GPS and the pedometer while at the trot were close enough for me to accept. The older GPS of years ago were not as good as the new ones. I asked for a increase in speed- He can go along very easy at 8 to 10 MPH, but he prefers about 8. His HR will jump from 115/120 to 125/130 when I ask for the 10 mph trot. It is sort of difficult to find LONG FLAT trails here but it is sort of relative. I have enough to prove out the point, the GPS is accurate enough for use as a training tool and teaching tool.. i.e. what does a 10mph trot 'feel ' like? and so on.. along with the HR data that says his best working HR is about 120 at the trot of 8 mph. If I ask for more he will move out but wants to fall back to the pace that is within his comfort zone. At a walk he likes about 2.5 mph with a HR of 80-90 WAY too slow - so I work him at about 3 to 4. I think it is just him. I cannot get him to keep the 4 mph walk going. Canter he likes about 12 to 15 mph. Varies due to the trail. Hr will be about 130 to 140. (on the flat) If we were in a pushed out hard trot over 10 mph he prefers to canter and the HR will drop 5 to 10 bpm. By using the techie tools I can see where he works the best and why he likes a certain speeds at all 3 gaits. It is where he is in balance with all systems. I do not think this can be changed that much, its a natural synergistic balance for THAT horse. I can condition him to accept the higher speeds at the trot and canter/gallop, but the basic working level of effort during a ride has to be where he most conformable and or efficient. The object of my conditioning program is to move him out of that zone to work at higher levels of effort and hope for a modification of that balanced working zone. At least the horse's systems can learn and adapt to accept the higher work levels without damage. Given to their own selection of gait/speed they will fallback to this balanced zone. The use of the techie tools helps a rider to learn this about each horse, way faster with less chance of error then doing it the old way by trial - error and ride till broken. I think after the convention I will put my CONDITIONING TRANING GUIDE on the web site. Some 'may' get something from it. Guess this was a ramble-on post -- Roger mailto:roger@xxxxxxxxxxx ============================================================ Common sense should also be a part of the decision making process. If you see someone who doesn't have any, hand them your tool box. ~ Lisa Salas - The Odd Farm ridecamp.net information: http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/ ============================================================
|