CARDIAC MONITORING DURING EXERCISE TESTS IN THE HORSE: 2. Heart Rate Responses to Exercise

Abstract

Data on resting heart rates, pre-exercise heart rates, the anticipatory rises before exercise, the influence of speed of work and recovery heart rates have been presented. Some observations on differences in the heart rate response on slow and fast working days are also recorded. In conformity with other workers, a linear relationship between heart rate and working speed within the range of 400-800 metre/min was observed. When the speed of work was between 400-800 metre/min, horses with resting ECG's classed as abnormal had significantly higher heart rates than those regarded as normal. It was also observed that the abnormal animals showed lower heart rates than a small number classed as borderline. The significance of these findings is discussed and the need for further work indicated.