Re: heart rates & recovery

[Susan Evans Garlinghouse <suendavid@worldnet.att.net>]

> Lastly, I have to wonder if we are looking to fix something that isn't
> broken?  If we identify he normal values, use them, and see no
> improvement over traditional methods of monitoring the horse, we are
> only adding a level of complexity.  Pesonally, I welcome new stuff if it
> improves the safety and riding, but I want to keep as simple as
> possible.
> 
> Linda Flemmer

It seems to me that as long as there is a single horse that crashes and
dies either during or after a ride, we should continue to try to add
better diagnostics to foresee and avoid the crash.  Alot of the
techniques being discussed here are actually pretty simple and cheap to
do, even out in the field---for example, they now have lactate analyzers
that are small, portable, fairly inexpensive units that would be a snap
at a VC.  Plasma proteins would require a small centrifuge, but that's
not difficult, either.  I don't think establishing normal values would
be difficult at all---enough work has been done to at least identify the
horses that are heading for a crash (Tom, I think you or anyone would
agree that any endurance horse coming into a VC who has "just been
trotting" but has lactates of 20 mmol/l is abnormal), which I would
think should be the primary use for such extra measures.

Susan G