Use of a global positioning and heart rate monitoring system to assess training load in a group of thoroughbred racehorses.

This research examines the use of global positioning (GPS) and heart rate monitoring in assessing the training load and intensity of racehorses, comparing the results to traditional methods of trainer’s timing and perceived work intensity. The study found GPS and heart rate monitoring to be a reliable measure of daily workload, offering a complex depiction of individual training sessions and potentially providing insight into training techniques that might lead to injury in horses.

Objective and Methods

• The aim of the research was twofold: to incorporate a GPS and heart rate monitor system in order to quantify the training intensity and physiological responses of racehorses during training and racing, and to compare the measured workload by the GPS against that of the daily timing and recording by a horse trainer.
• A sample of nineteen 3-year-old racehorses was followed over a 4 month training and racing program.
• Heart rate and GPS data were recorded daily alongside the trainer’s timing and distance measurements. This combined data was then analyzed using ANOVA for repeated measures; a statistical technique used for comparing multiple measurements taken on the same subjects.

Results

• The integrated GPS and heart rate monitor system found varying heart rate responses in individual horses even when they were subjected to similar training exercises.
• The mean speeds captured using the GPS system concurred with the average speeds timed by the horse trainer.
• Nevertheless, peak training speeds measured considerably higher than those assessed using stopwatch timing.
• Additionally, the research found that the average training speeds of the horses increased significantly throughout the duration of the training period.

Conclusions

• The study concludes that the GPS and heart rate monitor system is a credible tool for measuring daily workload in horses during training.
• This technology not only offers a nuanced understanding of individual training sessions, but it also holds the potential to provide deeper insight into certain training practices that could potentially predispose horses to injuries.