Re: heart rates & recovery

["Code-Co, Byron Harward" <byron@code-co.com>]

>
>Then why is heartrate even a part of it?
>
>ti

Since I look to you, Tom, as the master and me as the student (ever since I
bought and read you book, "The Fit Racehorse") I have to frame this as a
question. The question is, are the assumptions or conclusions I have drawn
from the experience related below invalid?

You seem to be saying (or supportively quoting) in this tread of
conversation that dropping down to a criteria heart rate is of NO value in
determining recovery.  On the basis of things you said in your book (i.e.
paraphrased, "recovery to 80 bpm within 2 minutes indicates you have not
over-worked your horse") I bought a heart rate moniter and began recording
the pulse recovery times on my endurance horse in training starting back in
1993. (One-rat research I admit)

I can see every year since then that when I start serious training in the
spring, there is a definite pattern to the times to recover. (I record my
horses time to reach 80 and 64 and I record the exact heart rate every 60
seconds until he dropps at least into the 50's)  To attempt to have some
comparability between different days I do two things. 1) I regularly do a
fixed course in the foothills near my home that takes about 30 minutes to
complete so I can compare exactly equal terain. and 2) on any terain I
always take the recovery times after stopping dead from the sustained
training heart rate level and click a stop watch to measure the heart rate
recovery. (In other words I do NOT do what I would do in a race: slow and
walk or get off and lead my horse some distance before a gate into hold
type vet check.

The pattern I can document in my records (actually for two horse, I guess
that may make this 2-rat research) of these HR recovery times is that each
year the HR recovery times start long (10-12 minutes to reach 64) and
gradually drop to what I believe is my horse's top condition level (2-3
minutes.) This change occurs over a 6-8 period of regular training. (In
fairness, in the 4 years since the first year I began training him, he has
never gotten completely "out of condidion." We ride all winter, it is just
a lot less and he does loose some of his condition during the winter.)

I can also document with the records I have kept that when I work my horse
above a certian heart rate on the trail (something over 150-160) for a
sustained distance in his training ride, the time to recover back to 64
will lengthen significantly.

These heart rate recovery times also seemed to be in sync with other
indicaters I observed about the horse that would say he's doing well or he
has been over worked and is stressed as a result. However, I am the first
to admit that I am no vet and I have been slow in learning to "read" my horse.

The conclusion that I have come to by my scientifically invalid sample of 2
is that the time to recover back to a criteria HR is a fair indicater both
of condition of my horse and the effect of over-working him. In other
words, I have thought that his lenghth of time to recover to a criteria was
a good indicater of his condition and overall recovery.

Could you help me see what I am missing about the invalidity of HR recovery
times as an indication of condition and overall recovery?

Thank you very much.

Byron Harward and Tzadik (who hates having water put on his coat where I am
going put the moniter leads especially in the winter. So if it isn't
useful, he will cheer!)