Re: Fun with Fitness!!

["Frank Mechelhoff" <fmechelh@c-s-k.de>]

Tivers@aol.com wrote:

> Good, we're getting some numbers! Thanks, Frank.
>
> That 175 lbs would make a difference. This is at a gallop?

About 400m/min, something slower then hunting gallop, round on the bit. numbers
for trot would not be far away.

>  >What I found out is that a slight gradient (maybe 10m uphill at 1000m)
> invisible
>  to the eye affects the results significantly. So I tried to make the test
> course
>  back and forth. Also footing (hard grass is best). And, at least for this
> horse,
>  agitation and fighting to be regulated. For a very fit horse, therefore it
> would
>  be best to take the test at HR160.>
>
> Maybe. What we do is get in about 2 1/2 miles of gallop and wait for the HR to
> settle down before we clock the horse and HR.

I did it similar. On a training course of 10 miles there, 10 miles back. Somewhere
at 2/3, after some significant canter work. With precise readings from the HRM
(but this was a non-memory-HRM, VMAX-EHRM, Polar Beat. Now I use the Accurex+,
with Interface+)

> At 160 you're on the ragged edge
> of getting some significant "help" from anaerobic metabolism, and this doesn't
> show up in heartrate response. You get a falsely elevated efficiency.
>
>  >One time I took 11 ft/bt, not so accurate, but probably at peak-performance.
> (she
>  believes to be the fastest horse in the world, the problem was her legs are
> not so
>  strong as her heart... )
>
>  I did not make any exact tests with Nataja, but she should perform more
> efficient,
>  around 12 ft/bt. but at a higher individual rate of HRmax.,  ~225 (she's
> bigger).
>  I will check that out next Summer.>
>
> 225?

A forecasting. I didn't checked her HRmax. out really... Filly, you know... next
summer she is 6, then we'll go serious...
Ligeira's 235-240 max instead was highly reproducable. she had excellent speed
race capabilities, although I never trained this. I think she is still faster than
15.2"-Nataja (even if I did some type of this work with her). She's too good for
racing that out...

have a nice new year
Frank (Germany)