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Re: [RC] heart rate monitor query - Elizabeth WalkerReally good post, Don. Heart monitors can be a big help with something like that. I was certainly wishing for one on a training ride I did just after I got Caisson. I hadn't had him more than a month, so I was still getting to know him. It was June, and a *really* hot day. I didn't know how hot until I got back to the ranch and found out it was 115 at the ranch. I was riding in the Cuyamaca mountains, so it was a *little* cooler, but still, hot. We headed up the grade toward Oakzanita - for those of you who don't know it, it is about a 2 mile uphill grade. Not extremely steep, but certainly not flat. For the first time since I had him, he kept stopping. He would trot a bit, then lose steam, stop and turn his head to look at me (I'm pretty sure it was an "are you crazy?" look). I had done the same route the week before, and there had been no problems. Given the way he was acting, and the heat, I slowed down. I almost turned around to go back, but ended up deciding that he was not in trouble, just complaining about trotting uphill on such a hot day. We mostly walked up the hill. At the top, he was fine and perfectly willing to move out - he just didn't want to do it up the hill in the heat. Still wish I had had an HRM, though. It would have given me a bit more info. On Feb 10, 2010, at 9:21 AM, Don Huston wrote: Like Kathleen said, knowing your horse's various normal working rates can often times stop a potential problem that is building and will for sure prevent you from over working your horse. One hot day the HR was 180-190 on a familiar route that should have been 140-150. I tightened the cinch, rode a bit and it stayed high so I got off and he was not interested in eating, his respiration stayed high and we were both sweating like pigs. Had I just guessed at his HR I would have been very wrong and continued on and who knows what might have happened. As it was, within 10mins he dropped into the 60's and started eating then after 15-20mins down into the 50's and seemed fine. It was a nice break that apparently he needed that day and even tho we were sweating in the sun the whole time he recovered fully and we went back to working in the heat and his HR stayed in his usual ranges. Don Huston =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
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