Comparison of heart rate of horses ridden by beginner rider or experienced rider

When enjoying horseback riding, it is important for the rider to ride a horse according to rider’s skill level for safety. Therefore, if there is an index that can objectively show the rider’s technical level, it may be useful for reducing accidents during horseback riding. Therefore, in this study, we investigated the relationship between the heart rate of the horse and the skill level of the rider, and examined whether the heart rate of the horse could be used as an index of the skill level of the rider. From September to October 2016, experiments were conducted at a ranch in Memuro. Mixed breed pony (6 years old gelding) and Hokkaido native horse (3 years old mare) were tested. There were a total of 6 riders, 3 beginner riders who have ridden horse about only 5 times and 3 experienced riders with more than 2 years of riding experience. All riders rode on both horses. Two types of experiments were conducted depending on the riding experience of the rider. The heart rate of resting time as baseline was measured for 5 minutes before the experiment. There was a difference in heart rate between beginner and experienced horses, so if selecting the horse, there will be possibility to show the rider's skill level from the horse's heart rate. It was also found that the rate of change in heart rate during exercise relative to heart rate during resting time is easier to distinguish the skill level of the rider than the heart rate. As a future task, rider’s riding skills would be estimated more accurate if we could collect data by conducting experiments with more experienced horses around the age of 20 and various varieties that are often used in equestrian facilities, rather than the test horses used in this study.