WO2007088352A1

WO2007088352A1 - Horse heart rate monitor system

Info

Publication number: WO2007088352A1
Application number: PCT/GB2007/000321
Authority: WO
Inventors: Pauline Eirlys Adams; Douglas Charles Harkin
Original assignee: Pauline Eirlys Adams; Douglas Charles Harkin
Priority date: 2006-01-31
Filing date: 2007-01-31
Publication date: 2007-08-09

Abstract

An equine heart rate monitor (4) provided with two electrodes (2) is mounted to a saddle girth (1). When the girth (1) is used to secure a saddle (11) to a horse (10), the electrodes (2) contact the horse's skin above and below the level of its heart, while a main body of the monitor (4) is located on an outer face (8) of the girth (1) away from the horse (10). The electrodes (2) detect the horse's heart beat, and a short-range radio transmitter within the monitor (4) transfers heart rate data wirelessly to a display device wearable, for example, on a rider's wrist. The rider thus has a continuous real-time display of the horse's heart rate, and optionally calculated maximum, minimum and average heart rates, so that an exercise session may be tailored to provide maximum benefit to the horse's fitness without exhausting it.

Description

HORSE HEART RATE MONITOR SYSTEM

The present application relates to an equine saddle girth containing a heart rate monitoring device, used in training to assess the fitness of a horse.

Heart rate monitors are used as a tool for improved training efficiency.

It has been scientifically proven that a horse needs to train both aerobically and anaerobically to be able to compete at a high level. A horse will only be training anaerobically when its heart rate goes over 170 beats per minute (BPM). The only way of assessing this is with a heart rate monitor, since, unlike a human, a horse cannot tell the rider when it is exhausted.

When a horse has a BPM of more than 200, lactic acid begins to build up. This is when the horse is beginning to 'seize up'. At this stage, the horse is more likely to fall and cause an injury to both itself and the jockey. The heart monitor is able to tell the jockey when the horse has had enough and when to ease up, or conversely when the horse is simply not trying hard enough.

If the horse has not done enough anaerobic exercise, the heart muscles will not be strong enough to cope with a race or competition, where its heart rate will invariably reach over 200 BPM. Therefore, exercise under a controlled environment with the use of a heart monitor ensures both that the horse is working within its target zones and that the horse is fit enough to cope with a race.

As previously mentioned, before entering a race or competition it is very important that the horse is fit enough. A good indication of fitness is the recovery time it takes for the heart rate to return to normal after extreme exercise.

With a heart monitor it is possible to note the heart rate at different intervals after exercise and therefore assess whether the recovery rate is good enough. If it is, then the horse is ready. If it is not, then further training is needed until the recovery time is good enough. This can only be done with a horse heart rate monitor.

Horse training yards are invariably busy with many horses being trained. Heart rate monitors can be elaborate devices, incorporating significant amounts of wiring. Connecting up this wiring would be time-consuming, and probably requires a degree of familiarity with (and aptitude for) electronic equipment beyond most yard staff. The wiring, and in some cases the monitors themselves, might constitute a hazard if there were a fall, for example. Precise location of sensors is important to ensure that the heartbeat is picked up properly, but few training staff would be sufficiently experienced in equine anatomy to place such sensors sufficiently accurately, even if there were sufficient slack time in a training schedule.

A further drawback of many current systems is that they are focussed solely on collecting data in a central computer. Such an arrangement is of no use to a jockey out on a gallops, who needs real-time data in order to modify a training schedule on the hoof.

It is hence an object of the present invention to provide a horse rate monitor that obviates the above disadvantages, is practical and easy to use, and will lead to little or no interference with existing training schedules.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an equine heart rate monitor system comprising heart rate data display means wearable by a rider of the horse, girth means adapted to secure a saddle to the horse and monitor means mounted or mountable to the girth means and comprising sensor means disposable adjacent the horse's heart and integral wireless data transmission means adapted to transfer heart rate data to said data display means.

Preferably, said sensor means comprises electrode means contactable with a skin surface of the horse.

Advantageously, the sensor means comprises at least two said electrode means, contactable with the horse's skin adjacent opposite sides of the horse's heart. A main body of the monitor means may be mounted or mountable to an outer, in use, face of the girth means, facing away from the horse.

Preferably, the monitor means is detachable from the girth means.

Advantageously, the girth means comprises recess means configured to receive the monitor means.

The recess means may comprise passage means leading to an inner face of the girth means and adapted to receive the sensor means.

The girth means may be detachably connectable to the saddle.

The girth means may be adjustably connectable to the saddle, optionally by means of buckle means adjustably connectable to strap means of the saddle.

Preferably, the monitor means is comprises radio transmitter means to transfer the heart rate data.

Said radio transmitter means advantageously comprises a short-range transmitter means, optionally operating in a licence-free portion of the radio frequency spectrum.

Said radio transmitter means may be adapted to communicate only with particular data display means. The system may further comprise data recording means.

The monitor means may comprise data recording means.

Alternatively or additionally, the display means may comprise data recording means.

The monitor means may be adapted to analyse heart rate data, for example to determine maximum, minimum and/or average heart rates.

Alternatively, the display means may be adapted to analyse heart rate data, for example to determine maximum, minimum and/or average heart rates.

Preferably, the data display means is adapted to be worn on the rider's wrist.

The data display may also be detachably mountable to the saddle.

The data display means is preferably adapted to display a current heart rate of the horse.

Advantageously, the data display means is adapted to display a maximum, minimum and/or average heart rate for the horse during a selected exercise session.

The data display means may be adapted to display a duration of a selected exercise session.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided girth means adapted for use in an equine heart rate monitor system as described in the first aspect above, having monitor means mounted or mountable thereto comprising sensor means disposable adjacent a heart of the horse and integral wireless data transmission means adapted to transfer heart rate data to remote data display means.

Preferably, said sensor means comprises electrode means contactable with a skin surface of the horse, optionally two electrode means contactable with the skin surface adjacent opposite sides of the horse's heart.

Advantageously, a main body of the monitor means is mounted or mountable to an outer, in use, face of the girth means, facing away from the horse.

The monitor means is preferably detachable from the girth means.

The girth means may comprise recess means configured to receive the monitor means.

The girth means may comprise passage means leading to an inner face of the girth means and adapted to receive the sensor means.

The girth means may be adjustably attachable to the saddle, optionally by means of buckle means.

The girth contains a heart rate monitoring device with two electrodes mounted on the near side (left hand side) in the girth. It is mounted in such a way that the electrodes lie against the skin adjacent to the horses heart. The watch receiver can be attached to the riders wrist, or optionally to the breastplate of the horse or attached to the saddle. Advantageously, the heart rate monitoring device with electrodes can stay in the girth and can easily be used from one horse to the next therefore building up direct comparisons between one horse and the other.

The heart rate monitoring device with electrodes is inserted into the girth in such a way that the horse does not feel any discomfort from it.

The heart rate monitoring device and electrodes are all in one unit.

The girth can be made from synthetic material or from leather.

The girth can be of any length to suit the horse.

Advantageously the heart rate monitoring device with electrodes can be taken out of the girth so that the girth can be washed or the batteries changed.

The horse heart rate monitor is discreet and there are no external wires.

The horse heart rate monitor can be used in any weather conditions.

Embodiments of the present invention will now be more particularly described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a girth incorporating a heart rate monitoring device embodying the present invention, viewed from a side contactable in use with a horse's skin; Figure 2 is a plan view of the girth shown in Figure I₅ viewed from an outer, in use, side;

Figure 3 is a side elevation of the girth shown in Figure 1; and

Figure 4 is a perspective view of a horse wearing the girth shown in Figure 1.

Referring now to the figures and to Figure 1 in particular, a girth 1 embodying the present invention comprises an elongate rectangular leather strap provided at each remote end with buckles 7, by which the girth 1 may be attached to a saddle to secure the saddle to a horse (see below). Instead of leather, one may also use woven webbing or a strong, flexible plastics material. An inner face 3 of the strap, which would in use contact the skin of the horse, is provided with an added lining, in which are formed two double-stitched pockets 5.

Two electrodes 2 are mounted to the girth 1, being held within the respective pockets 5 so as to be contactable with the horse's skin through an open mouth 9 of each pocket 5.

Each electrode 2 is operatively connected to a heart rate monitoring device 4 mounted to an outer face 8 of the strap, as shown in Figures 2 and 3.

Figure 4 shows how the girth 1 is positioned in use on a horse 10. The girth 1 is buckled at each end to respective straps located on either side of a saddle 11, which rests on the back of the horse 10 (usually with a small saddlecloth 12 positioned under the saddle 11). The girth 1 is tightened around the chest 13 of the horse 10 to hold the saddle 11 securely in place, exactly as for a conventional girth.

However, as shown, the heart rate monitoring device 4 of the girth 1 is located on the near side (left) of the horse's chest 13, such that the electrodes 2 contact the horse's skin adjacent its heart, with the electrodes 2 disposed adjacent opposite sides of the heart. This allows the monitoring device 4 to pick up the electrical activity associated with each heart beat, through the electrodes 2. (It has been found that positioning the electrodes 2 within four to twelve centimetres of the buckles 7 at the near side end of the girth 1 gives the requisite electrode

positions).

The girth 1 embodying the present invention is indistinguishable from a conventional girth, as far as the horse 10 is concerned, and allows the horse 10 to be exercised normally.

The heart rate monitoring device 4 also incorporates a short-range wireless transmitter. Short range radio transmission protocols such as Bluetooth (Registered Trade Mark) or WiFi may for example be useful in this regard. This transmitter sends current heart rate data from the monitoring device to a receiver in a display unit (not shown) worn like a watch on a wrist of a rider of the horse 10. The rider may thus easily consult the display on his or her "watch", to read off the current heart rate of the horse 10, at any stage of an exercise session, whether in the yard, out on the gallops or afterwards. The display unit could be mounted to the saddle 11 or elsewhere on the harness, e.g. on the breastplate, though on the rider's wrist is likely to be most convenient in most cases.

The heart rate monitoring device 4 may also record other data, such as the time, and may calculate maximum, minimum and average heart rates during an exercise session. Alternatively, the monitoring device 4 may merely transmit heart rate data to the watch receiver, which itself records the data, and calculates and displays the maximum, minimum and average heart rates, duration of a gallop, and so forth. The watch receiver can thus show the rider during and after exercise -

• The beats per minute. This will show whether the horse is working within its target zone.

• The length of time the exercise session lasted.

• The highest BPM during exercise.

• The lowest BPM during exercise.

• The average BPM during exercise.

• The recovery rate of the horse after exercise.

The rider thus has this essential data readily to hand, and may push the horse on or rein it back, as appropriate, to optimise its exercise. The data is preferably also stored for download to a conventional computer, for example for detailed analysis by a trainer, but it is the ready availability of the heart rate data to the rider that is probably the most important benefit of the system described herein.

A further advantage of the system described is safety. The absence of connecting wires avoids the risk of entanglement, particularly in the case of a fall or the rider being thrown. The self-contained heart rate monitor device with integral transmitter is straightforward to seal against the ingress of moisture, including rain, sweat or mud, so should be reliable in all ground and weather conditions and should not constitute an electrical hazard in case of an accident. (The electrodes are permanently attached to the monitoring device by a sealed connection). The absence of wires also prevents failures due to breakages of the wires, or accidental unplugging. Another benefit of the system described is that it is simple to install and simple to use. The girth is used just like a conventional girth, and the watch receiver can be strapped on just like a conventional watch; the system is hard to get wrong. It can be used with any conventional saddle, so minimising the need to replace existing equipment, and allowing the girth to be swapped between horses at will. The most adjustment needed would be if the girth were transferred between horses of substantially different chest dimensions. All conventional saddles have straps with an array of holes, so that the effective girth length can be adjusted. It is only necessary to carry out such adjustments so that the electrodes are on opposite sides of the heart (which can be checked by seeing if the watch receiver is picking up a reliable "at rest" heart rate).

The heart rate monitoring device 4 and electrodes 2 are (in most embodiments of the invention) removable from the girth 1, so that the girth 1 may be cleaned, or so that the batteries powering the monitoring device 4 and its transmitter may be changed.

Thus, the horse girth 1 comprises a long rectangular strap with buckles 7 at each end that is used to attach the saddle to the horse. The extra lining on the inside of the girth 3 allows the two electrodes 2 to be placed within the double stitched pockets 5, with three sides stitched and one side open to allow the end of the electrodes 6 to be slotted into these pockets. The electrodes are placed on the near side (left) of the girth within 4 - 12 cms of the buckles. The heart rate monitoring device 4 has an electrode at each end that touches the skin of the horse.

Referring now to Figure 2, this refers to the side of the girth that is not next to the skin of the horse 8. The body of the heart rate monitoring device 4 can be seen from this side. In other words, the invention comprises an equine saddle girth I₅ with a heart rate monitoring device contained within, to send a signal to a receiving device to monitor the heartbeat of a horse. The girth is the fastening device that holds the saddle on a horse. It is placed under the horse's chest behind the front legs and fastens on the other side to the saddle. The heart rate monitoring device is fitted into the girth in such a way that the body of the heart rate monitoring device is on the outside of the girth and the electrodes that pick up the beat of the heart are on the inner side of the girth against the skin of the horse on the near side (left) when the girth is fastened.

Claims

1. An equine heart rate monitor system comprising heart rate data display means wearable by a rider of a horse, girth means adapted to secure a saddle to the horse and monitor means mounted or mountable to the girth means and comprising sensor means disposable adjacent the horse's heart and integral wireless data transmission means adapted to transfer heart rate data to said data display means.

2. An equine heart rate monitor system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the sensor means comprises electrode means contactable with a skin surface of the horse.

3. An equine heart rate monitor system as claimed in claim 2, wherein the sensor means comprises at least two said electrode means, contactable with the horse's skin adjacent opposite sides of the horse's heart.

4. An equine heart rate monitor system as claimed in either claim 2 or claim 3, wherein a main body of the monitor means is mounted or mountable to an outer, in use, face of the girth means, facing away from the horse.

5. An equine heart rate monitor system as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the monitor means is selectably detachable from the girth means.

6. An equine heart rate monitor system as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the girth means comprises recess means configured to receive the monitor means.

7. An equine heart rate monitor system as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the monitor means comprises radio transmitter means to transfer the heart rate data.

8. An equine heart rate monitor system as claimed in claim 7, wherein said radio transmitter means comprises a short-range transmitter means, optionally operating in a licence-free portion of the radio frequency spectrum.

9. An equine heart rate monitor system as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, further comprising data recording means.

10. An equine heart rate monitor system as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, adapted to analyse heart rate data, for example to determine maximum, minimum and/or average heart rates.

11. An equine heart rate monitor system as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the data display means is adapted to be worn on the rider's wrist.

12. An equine heart rate monitor system as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the data display means is adapted to display a current heart rate of the horse.

13. An equine heart rate monitor system as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the data display means is adapted to display a maximum, minimum and/or average heart rate for the horse during a selected exercise session.

14. An equine heart rate monitor system substantially as described herein with reference to the Figures of the accompanying drawings.

15. Girth means adapted for use in an equine heart rate monitor system as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, provided with monitor means mounted or mountable thereto, comprising sensor means disposable adjacent a heart of the horse and integral wireless data transmission means adapted to transfer heart rate data to remote data display means.

16. Girth means as claimed in claim 15, wherein the sensor means comprises electrode means contactable with a skin surface of the horse.

17. Girth means as claimed in either claim 15 or claim 16, wherein a main body of the monitor means is mounted or mountable to an outer, in use, face of the girth means.

18. Girth means as claimed in any one of claims 15 to 17, comprising recess means configured to receive the monitor means.

19. Girth means as claimed in any one of claims 15 to 18, comprising passage means leading to an inner, in use, face of the girth means and adapted to received the sensor means.

20. Girth means substantially as described herein with reference to the Figures of the accompanying drawings.