HR during exercise provides an indirect measure of how your horse is responding to the training program. A linear (straight line) increase in HR correlates with increasing running speed (velocity abbreviated V) up to maximum HR. K or km stands for kilometer. When the system is standardized, of course it is reproducible. Maximum HR occurs when there is no further increase in the horse’s HR even though the horse can continue to run faster.

V200 is the name of this fitness test for 200 HR velocity.

Even though we have blood pressure and also more spirometric tests, these may be quite inconvenient and HR alone serves. We have 1) the HR monitor, 2) a radio transmitting belt around the horse in front of the saddle and 3) a computer program managing the signal.