Help in selection by objectifying potentials
In racehorses, performance is mainly dependent on stamina potential (endurance), pure speed, combativeness and robustness. The physiological evaluations of young horses provide early objective information on the cardiac and metabolic potentials of future athletes.
Evaluation of equine fitness
Whatever the equestrian discipline, the precise monitoring of the level of physical condition is done by performing a standardized test on track. With the improvement of physical condition, heart rates and blood lactate levels decrease for a given intensity. We can thus quantify in a precise way the progression and set objectives according to the previous tests obtained at peak form.
Precising the training load
The use of a heart rate monitor becomes possible and improves the accuracy of the training load, once the relationship between energy metabolism and heart rate has been established. The effort does not only depend on the speed but also on the depth of the track, the elevation, the weight of the rider, the wind. The heart rate during the effort accounts for all these external elements.
Prevent training-related conditions
Acute pain increases the heart rate of horses at rest. Likewise during exercise, for a given intensity, the heart rate is frequently abnormally high and can become a “warning light” to prevent sub-clinical locomotor disorders. For a given intensity, exercise lactates are greatly modified in the event of upper or lower respiratory problems.