Do you know what your horse’s normal heart rate is?
It should be between 36-42 beats per minute.
How do you take your horse’s heart rate?
You can feel the pulse a few places. The two most common sites are below the jaw and at the fetlock.
Once you find the pulse, count for 15 seconds, then multiply by 4 to get the total for 60 seconds.
After 5-10 minutes of long trotting, plus a lope around an arena both ways, your horse’s heart rate should be between 120-140 bpm.
If it is higher than that, your horse is not adequately conditioned for competition.
After 5 minutes of walking down, the heart rate should be 55-65.
Begin tracking your horse’s heart rate before, during, and after exercise.
You will learn how conditioning is going and if you need to do more or change your current program.
I will continue a series on conditioning your equine athlete.
Dr Vet Sonya 