Equine Fitness Girth Heart Rate Monitor is the Key to a Healthy Horse

Using an equine heart rate monitor is one of the most reliable ways of assessing a horse’s fitness and it can also help identify any problems or illnesses. The Girth Heart Rate Monitor from Equine Fitness is easy to use and practical as well as being the only monitor that can be used in a race. The monitor is inserted into a patented girth in such a way that horse and rider are unaware of its existence making it an essential training tool suitable for use in all weather conditions and helping keep the horse healthy and fit.

Scientific research has shown that horses need to train both aerobically and anaerobically to be able to compete to a high level. A horse will only be training anaerobically when their heart rate is over 170 and up to 240 BPM and the only way to asses this is to use a heart rate monitor. When a horse’s BPM is more than 200 BPM there is a lactic acid build up which is when they start to seize up and can fall and injure themselves. The more anaerobic exercise a horse does the better they are able to cope with the build up with lactic acid.

As the horse trains and gets fitter the amount of heart muscle and the width and area of the left heart chamber increase dramatically. The increased heart volume allows the heart to hold more blood at rest and during exercise while the increased heart muscle allows the fitter heart to eject more blood with each beat. This keeps the muscles supplied with oxygen and delays the lactic acid build up that can prove so detrimental to horse and rider. If the horse has not done enough anaerobic exercise it will not be able to cope with the build up of lactic acid. By using the heart rate monitor the jockey can tell when the horse has had enough, how fit they are or if they are simply not trying hard enough. Exercise under a controlled environment and using a monitor ensures that the horse is working within its target zones and that it is fit enough to cope with competition.

The time it takes the heart to get back to its normal rate after exercise is a good indication of how fit a horse is, getting shorter as the horse gets fitter. With a heart rate monitor it is possible to take the heart rate at different intervals and assess whether the recovery rate is good enough and if the horse is ready to compete. Having a deeper insight into the fitness level helps prevent injury and ensures the horse can reach its full potential.

Discreet, practical and easy to use the Equine Fitness Girth Heart Rate Monitor is an essential training tool for any horse or rider.
Fans of the Equine Fitness Heart Rate Monitor include Jim Bolger, Luca Cumani, Michael Jarvis, Willie Haggas, Michael Scudamore, Paul Nichols

For more information visit www.equinefitness.co.uk, Girth Heart Rate Monitor £129.25.