In winter, the long hair can/will cause a problem. You will have to use more gel or clip a 3-inch area at the electrode’s site. Do not shave the area. I use ear clippers.  

REMEMBER; ERRATIC READINGS CAN OCCUR IF THE ELECTRODES ARE MOVING OR DRY. 

If you DO NOT obtain a steady reading TRY any of the following suggestions. 

1. Reverse the lead wire connection to the transmitter.

2. Place the BOTTOM electrode on the LEFT side of the horse just behind the elbow. Connect the Long lead to the transmitter. With some horses, the heart symbol DISPLAY will show a “Double Beat” when connected to the left side girth. If this happens reverse the electrode wire connections on the transmitter.

3. A few riders have obtained acceptable results by placing BOTH electrodes UNDER the saddle.  I have NOT been able to get this to work.

4. LOOSE saddles WILL cause erratic reading.  If you ride with a loose girth, try placing a piece of thin sponge or wool between the girth and the electrode to insure proper contact. This will raise the surface of the electrode higher then the girth and providing a better connection. Use Vet wrap over the  electrode to hold this in place. Make sure the vet warp is WET.

5. Foam pads and many, thick saddle pads may prevent the top electrode from making a stable adequate connection. Try other locations under the saddle. Make sure it is close to the stirrup hanger area. 

VERY IMPORTANT

6. Do not wear an analog electric wristwatch on the same wrist. It will read 60 all the time. The monitor may be temporarily affected by high tension power lines, electric fences, and electric dog fences. 

7. The replaceable electrode patches are thin by design, and may be damaged.  PEEL the patch off the pad or girth rather than pulling the wire. If they tear, it MUST be replaced.

8. The EKG wires SHOULD NOT be left connected to the transmitter, when not in use. The battery life will be shortened. The NORMAL battery life will be 6 months to a year. Disconnect ONE lead wire to shut off the transmitter

9. The connections on the transmitter and the leads should be cleaned to prevent corrosion. Clean the snaps and the transmitter connections with a Q-tip and alcohol. Place the Q-tip in the transmitter snap connection and twist back and forth. Use a stiff brush (toothbrush) to clean the wire ends.

10. If the area on the horse is very dirty, clean the site with alcohol. This will remove the oils from the skin and hair.

11. One method to verify a proper reading (for those with a monitor receiver with HILO), is to set the HI Alarm value to 100. When the horse is trotting at a pulse rate of over 100, the watch will beep at the rate of the pulse. If the beep rate is steady, then you are getting good a electrode contact. If however, the beep sounds vary, that is skip a few beats, then speed up, you ARE experiencing electrode movement. 

12. INSURE the saddle is adequately tight to hold the electrodes in place. Once the saddle settles down on the horse, you should obtain an accurate steady reading. If the girth becomes loose, you will have to adjust for correct tightness. The girth does NOT have to be over tight, just sung. I use a girth with elastic ends.

13. If the watch (receiver) is moving on your wrist, wear a wrist sweatband.

14. Since the monitor has a limited range of 2.5 to 3 feet, you should wear the receiver on your right wrist and mount the transmitter on the top or left side of the saddle, allowing you to run along side and still use the monitor. You will be able to read the pulse by placing your right hand in the mid neck area.

15.  A sudden increase in gait may cause a 15 to 45 seconds delay, before the monitor records the pulse accurately.

16. You can test the monitor on YOURSELF.  Connect the leads and electrodes to the transmitter.  Lay the transmitter on a WOOD table, or in your pocket.  Apply some gel or water to the electrodes. Place the one electrode on the LEFT SIDE of your chest. Place the other electrode on the RIGHT SIDE.  At the lower rib cage area ,on each side of the solar plexus. HOLD in place with ONE hand or with a small belt. KEEP the electrodes STEADY. Hold the monitor receiver near the transmitter. Start the monitor. You should obtain a pulse reading within 10-15 seconds.

17. If the distance between the monitor and transmitter (to obtain a signal from the transmitter) appears to be getting shorter, or if the display seems to be fading the problem may be a weak battery. The batteries should last one to two years. I really recommend changing both batteries at the beginning of the year.

READY TO RIDE.

A. Before you mount, your monitor should be working. The ‘Heart’ symbol should be blinking at a steady rate and the pulse should be displayed.

B. As your horse starts to walk, your monitor should steadily track the pulse. If the readings are not steady, check the saddle for tightness, the electrodes should not be moving.

C. When you change gaits from a walk to a trot the pulse reading should track fairly fast. However, when you change from a steady pace to a much faster pace, the monitor will take about 30 seconds to “catch up.”

D. In the beginning, it will take some time to learn your horse’s normal pulse. Remember each horse will be different.

E. All you want to do now on the first ride or two, is find out what your horse’s normal rates are at the different gaits. Ride a   normal ride and just note the readings. Stop along the way and take some 2 minute recovery checks.

F. You will note the monitor heart symbol will flash at the same rate of the heart. When pulse rates are high 180 plus, the symbol will appear not to flash. This is normal. If the heart symbol does not show the enlarged heart graphic, there IS a problem.

LIST OF Q and A-  POSTS  

 1. Suggestions to resolve the LOOSE GIRTH Issue

  Correct--- We only use girths with double elastic ends. I

modified all my saddles to use dressage girths.. Works great, solid

connections with allowed chest expansion. 

 TP> The reason for a "loose girth" is to allow the natural expansion of 

TP> chest as it moves down the trail. There is more than one way to "skin 

TP> that cat." Elastic between the girth buckles and the girth. Not just 

TP> elastic on one side as seen in many English girths but elastic on both 

TP> sides. That way you can ride with the girth snug enough for the HRM to 

TP> work but the elastic will allow for the natural expansion of the chest 

TP> the horse needs to move freely.

TP> There are allot of options for this type of girth out there. 

2. This was from a post, its more of the same just said it another way. 

The problems with funky readings: 

1. DRY horse - USE electrical conductive gel - NOT KY - use ALOE gel or

EKG gel or SALT WATER?  Dont wait for him to sweat - wont work well

most of the time.

In a VC after you washed ALL the salt off the horse, washed the girth

and the horse fails to sweat LOTS after 50 miles, you NEED some gel or

add salt back to the girth. We must obtain a solid ELECTRICAL

connection to the horse, with a conductive medium. 

2. LOOSE GIRTH.. oh well cant fix that one  -(SOLID connection - NO

movement of electrode against the horse. 

3. LONG HAIR   cut hair spots  or holes  that is not shaved

4. NEOPRENE   use fussy girth  - or glue the Velcro on the girth, use

a few turns of vet warp over the top of the electrode to fix it to the

girth and hold sweat. 

5. ELECTRODE PLACEMENT. MANY do this 'wrong;  ( note - remember I have

developed this and been doing this longer then any others 'selling'

hrms - for horses.   but hey  HOW difficult is it figure this out?? 

    1. TOP lead  should be 24 inch long  to go WAY under the saddle pad

 UNDER the spot where the stirrup hangers and billets are located

..NOT in front of the wither or in the pocket behind the wither but in

the small of the back UNDER YOUR seat. (no motion)

    2. BOTTOM - variable- NORMAL place  at the point of the elbow-

where you take the pulse BUT ON the RIGHT side, (no lead to hang up

on the girth )  NEXT place -  on the LEFT side at elbow.

  ON SLAB sided horses  - place LOWER to the rounder section of the

chest on the barrel - OR even dead center. 

( to make our long coil lead LONGER- just pull it apart and stretch it

- will go 5 feet long) 

   DO NOT place the BOTTOM electrode on the SIDE - the girth will bunch

slide pucker etc and move the electrode all over the place, thus bad

readings. 

TEST TO SEE IF YOUR READINGS ARE  VALID

1. Get going, at a working level  with a wet horse or gel on a dry one

2. Pick a speed settle in at a solid HR.

3.  Press on the go button a bit - HR increase a few beats like 5 ?

4. Apply the brakes a bit HR drops?

DOES THE READING TRACK YOUR SPEED? slight changes in effort will be

noted. 

Stuck reading or reading that are wrong for the  normal

 effort - running up  hill at 90-then walking at 185 ...

   REVIEW of some more issues

We have received a   number of calls, emails and public comments about the V-MAX not giving steady updates at a trot or canter. We are very concerned with the quality of our product.

We initiated an investigation of this issue. We tested a few of the questionable units under actual ride conditions. We did note under some conditions the readings were NOT steady or accurate. The test results indicated a number of areas of concern.

ELECTRODES

Units shipped over the past 4 years used three styles of electrodes. One style is made from a molded solid rubber material. The pin is inserted into the center of a molded raised area. This electrode has two small strips of Velcro on both sides of the molded raised area.

The other electrode is a thin, shinny, and very flexible die cut electrode. The pin is inserted into a small tube in the center of the electrode. This thin electrode appears to sometimes cause intermittent readings. This thin electrode will also rip. If the electrode pad is ripped the readings will be erratic. We recommend replacing this electrode with one of the molded electrodes.

The current electrode is molded high carbon silicon. These electrodes provide stable and accurate readings. This electrode is quite reliable and the pin will not un-plug. If your old electrodes are over 4 years old, the electrodes will have an increase in resistance. That is they will not sense the EKG electrical pulse due to age. We request you try the solid black molded electrodes.

These electrodes are almost indestructible. We had a concern about the connection “bump.” However, we have not had ANY back or girth problems. The lead pin may be difficult to insert in the electrode. Use a twisting motion to insert the pin in the electrode. If you have problems with electrode causing a bump, move it to another location. DO NOT place the electrode under the fork of the tree, in the pocket behind the withers.

We also want to point out that electrode placement is very important. In the event you are NOT obtaining satisfactory results with the girth electrode on the RIGHT side of the horse, try placing it on the LEFT side just behind the elbow. You may ALSO try REVERSING the connections on the transmitter. The connections of the leads to the new block transmitter from Cardiosport do NOT appear to matter. However IF you have problems, then reverse the connections.

The TOP electrode belongs on the LEFT and under the saddle in the area of the STIRRUP HANGER. I have NOT been able to obtain satisfactory results with the TOP electrode under the RIGHT side of the back. I have not been able to obtain satisfactory readings with BOTH electrodes under the saddle.

Use EKG gel or ALOE Gel or salt-water to get a good connection before you start. DRY electrodes WILL cause erratic readings. DO NOT use KY JELLY it will not conduct the EKG correctly.

We recommend the use of a wide VELCRO band placed around the girth. This will help to stabilize the electrode. Use this 2-inch wide strap on all girths. If you use leather or neoprene girths, you must use VELCRO or some type of material to hold the electrode in place.

It was recommended by a rider to try two turns of vet wrap OVER the electrode and one wrap around the girth. Insure the vet wrap is well soaked with water and EKG Gel. As long as the vet wrap stays in place the electrode cannot move.

The saddle MUST be secure and NOT move around. Electrode motion WILL cause false readings.

While we would like to insure you will NEVER note intermittent or erratic readings. This is an electronic device with many variables and some inconsistencies may occur. The placement of the electrodes on the horse is paramount for correct performance. Motion artifact errors are going to occur. Our electrode placement and type of electrodes will minimize this issue. MOST riders (over 90%) never have problems.

LEAD WIRES

There may be issues related to erratic reading with the LEAD wires. If there is any cut in the insulation of the lead wire, it must be replaced. Some leads made from copper wire (NOT V-MAX) may be intermittent INSIDE the connector. Our V-MAX lead wires are made using a proprietary process to insure the highest conductive medium for the EKG signal. The use of copper is noisy and has high loss of the EKG electrical signal.

We also provide a strong wire. Our leads have a 35-pound test pull rating. Our wire will not break internally. If it does we replace it.

The life of our leads is for years, unless there is a cut in the insulation.

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