>Has anybody else noticed that the longer you get in the ride, the lower and
>more stable the HR becomes?
This is one of the things I had the hardest time believing when I started
this sport. (Course you have to remember I was used to thinking in terms of
20 meter circles - not -miles-). I just couldn't fathom that it could take
*10 miles* or more for the heart rate to settle in! I figured that I or the
horse would be just be dead by then HR :-). However, the more fit Embers
becomes that point seems to get farther and farther down the trail (maybe
indicating he is ready for a 100 miler???? <g>) Typically by the first
check (let's say 12 miles or so) his HR was settled in to working rates.
However, at the last ride, I didn't feel like he had truly settled until a
full 25 miles into the ride. Not that his rates/recoveries weren't very
good before that point - it just seemed to take that long till I got that
"I can go like this forever" feeling from him and the HRM readings evened
out on the trail.
Tina
Embers & Tony
hickst@nichols.com