I’m trying to find out more about Heart Monitor’s in horses. Especially those that transmit a radio signal for data collection. We are looking at designing an experiment and are interested in peoples experiences and problems associated.
Thank you for any input.
For what its worth I have never heard of anyone using any type of monitor for training race horses. I have heard some people use them for endurance and eventing conditioning, but never for racing.
Matress Mac who is into interval training has always had his trainers use the heart rate monitor. Gary Potter who is at Texas A&M usually flys out to show whomever how to use the thing.
Interesting you’d bring this up, as there was a very interesting article in Equus magazine May 2008 (issue 368) about how to potentially prevent breakdowns by analyzing the intervals between heartbeats (Heart rate variability (HRV) analysis)
The article is here (PDF): http://special.equisearch.com/downloads/articles/EQMay08HeartofBreakdowns.pdf
It would be great to see if it could have a viable practical use in the industry.
I remember, eons ago, Tom Ivers using a crude heart monitor, and talking to those of us who would listen about heart rate recovery, fitness, and interval training. His website (now run by the remaining family) sells such things but last I looked they were pretty pricey.
Heart Monitor costs
RE: Price of on-board heart monitors.
They are down to about $125.00 now for the basic unit with a wrist watch type readout. You can get a fancier read out for another $100 dollars.
Many endurance riders have them, or the handheld units. (looks like a half moon shaped unit you press on the horse)
They take about 10-30 minutes to learn how to set up and use the on-board type. I’m not surprised TB trainers don’t use them.
Paul N. Sidio
Spokane MO
[QUOTE=psidio;3257075]
RE: Price of on-board heart monitors.
They are down to about $125.00 now for the basic unit with a wrist watch type readout. You can get a fancier read out for another $100 dollars.
Many endurance riders have them, or the handheld units. (looks like a half moon shaped unit you press on the horse)
They take about 10-30 minutes to learn how to set up and use the on-board type. I’m not surprised TB trainers don’t use them.
Paul N. Sidio
Spokane MO[/QUOTE]
Hi! I’m new to this but I am a Thoroghbred race horse trainer, and I HAVE used a heart rate monitor. Thank you very much. I have found it much more useful to hand walk my horse after galloping and taking note of how long it takes for him to water off and get his air back than using the monitor. I had to rely on the word of exercise riders who may or may not care to pay attention to readings at specific distances and report them to me. I know of other trainers who still use them. However, I will continue to be hands-on with my horse and not shove him off on someone else to cool out or hang on a walker. Although there are many useful things to help us condition and take care of our animals, there is NO substitution for paying attention to and getting to know your horse. THEY are the ones who hold all the answers.
I used to gallop a filly that was owned by a Tom Ivers Groupie. Every day we would gallop about 7 or 8 times around a 7 furlong track. Each time we’d pass by the spot the trainer and owner were at, I’d have to yell out what the heart rate was (which was displayed on a watch I wore) Now, if you’ve ever galloped a really, really tough horse to hold, and tried to read a watch, while trying not to get run off with…then you know how challenging this was to do. Of course that wasn’t near as hard as Interval miles were. That was when we had to go one mile - and the speed had to be exact down to the second - the “walk” ten minutes, and go another mile, shaving 1 second off the last mile’s time. All while looking at that darn watch.
So, all that said, while I think that a heartrate monitor can be a useful tool, I think going by sheer experience and feel can be just as useful, and a whole lot cheaper.
I agree with Freebird. Seems everyone these days wants to get these horses down to a science. Truth is, if everyone would just work on horsemanship skills, the horse would be better off for it. Also, most exercise riders at tracks make $10.00 per ride for risking their necks on other people’s horses. $10.00 is cheap for a GOOD exercise rider. They can make or break you.
Heart rate Monitors
Hi Freebird.
RE: Now, if you’ve ever galloped a really, really tough horse to hold, and tied to read a watch, while trying not to get run off with…then you know how challenging this was to do."
Actually I know very few Endurance Riders who really wear the watch. It is usually mounted to the saddle pommel area somehow. In this sport, we often are riding fast on a narrow rocky trail on steep hills alongside a cliff edge. That is not a good time to try and read a watch on your hands either… So we mount it on the saddle. Much easier to read, plus you stay centered and balanced.
What you look for is not an absolute certain number, but for changes in the heart rates. If you go up a hill at a certain speed on Monday and hit the top with a HR of 130, which takes 1/2 mile on the flat to come down to 85, then do pretty much the same on Tuesday, and Wednesday, but Thursday the heart rate hits 180 and doesn’t drop below 130… That is like the warning light on your car. Better pull over and check the oil and radiator.
At vet checks during Endurance rides, one of the most carefully watched parameters is heart rate and how it changes when the horse is trotted out. A huge percentage of oncoming problems are revealed right then. Before lameness or tendon damage shows up enough to be visable in the gait, it often shows up in elevated heart rates. I was at a ride Memorial Day Weekend and there was a horse that came into the vet check and trotted out fine and sound, but the heart rate kept spiking. The vet ordered the rider to come back in 30 minutes before heading out on trail. They brought the horse back, and the heart rate was much higher for that horse than normal after a hold period. They trotted the horse out and its heart rate jumped even higher. The vet pulled the horse from the race. Back at its camp, after the adrenilin had faded the horses became three legged lame. On examination a nail was found driven into its hoof. The horse wanted to go further in the race so bad, it ignored the pain, but the heart rate gave it away. Is there any reason to think that this would not be true for Thoroughbred racehorses?
When I have watched excercise riders at the track, if a horse is not performing as fast/well as they think it should, or as fast as the trainer has told them to take the horse, the common response is to pop the horse with the whip. Then they come back to the barn and say the horse was lazy this morning, but they woke him up. Maybe the horse was telling them something was wrong, but they were not listening? Plus while excercise riders and jockies are among the most skilled and fearless athletes on the planet, many of them ride so many horses that noticing little changes in an individual horse between rides is too much to ask of them.
I agree with loriandlobo “Truth is, if everyone would just work on horsemanship skills, the horse would be better off for it.” Unfortunately I see very little of that at the track these days. This winter I was at Santa Anita for opening day. They were in the paddock area saddling up for a Maiden Race, when one horse acted up a bit. The groom leading it waited until the horse settled down, (it was a small spook in reaction to another horses spook). Then the groom gave three or four hard yanks on the chain drawn over the horses nose. The horse backed up and reared to get away from the pain, and hit its back on the stall divider and then came down hard on it’s back. The groom got it up, and then with the horse turned crossways in the stall, jerked it again, the horse kicked out several times hitting the wall with it’s rear legs until it was lame. The trainer looked at the owners, who watched this in shock, and just shrugged his shoulders. " Guess we will scratch." he said. I doubt that this horse was ok to run for a long time.
Good horsemanship would go a long way to making racing better. I am all for it.
Paul N. Sidio
Spokane MO
I galloped a 2 yr old eons ago for a guy that was into interval training…he strapped a clock thing on my leg, and an earpiece thing on my helmet, with an antena that made a boinnnng noise with every stride…I could not hear him, but he could hear me…I was a young girl (16), and the colt was really giving me a fit…did not like the boinnnng noise!
I passed the guy and saw the look of horror on his face, I had been cussing at this horse like a sailor, and forgot that the owner had been able to hear me. Never mind trying to look down and read the numbers and call them out.
The following day while walking to the track, I made sure that I told him that the numbers on the monitor relayed that we should be galloping, not walking.
We are actually trying to mount them on cattle for research but most of my experience has been with horses so I thought I would start there.
