Heart Rate

Question
I am Training a three year old that was claimed when do i use the HR 140, 160, 180, 200, 220, could you explain without having injuries.thanks, Joel Nero.

Answer
--Joel

If I am understanding your question, you are training a horse that you claimed from someone else, correct?  
There is a whole lot more to successfully training a racehorse than simply using a heart monitor, and a heart monitor in and of itself will not keep you from injuring your horse.  There are two things that a horse needs to be to race well.  One, he needs to be aerobically fit, that is where your heart monitor may come in handy, but he also needs to be bodily fit.  In other words, his bones, tendons and muscles need to be able to withstand the desired level of training and racing.  A heart monitor won't do a thing to help you with this part, and this is the important part when it comes to potential injury.  In other words, a horse that has been swimming exclusively, and not galloping for his training regimine will pass a heart monitor check just fine, but his body will not have built up the necessary muscles and bone density to race on a racetrack without possibility of injury. He will have lots of air, but he won't be body fit.  Does that make sense?

If you want to use a heart monitor in your training, then Tom Ivers has a Yahoo group that discusses a lot of different approaches such as that one.  You might consider joining it, and picking the brains of some of the members.  The address is: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/horsescience/

I hope that this helps,

Stephanie Frost
www.alchemybloodstock.com