When some of our most experienced riders first did Tevis, they described it as: "No helmets, I think there must have been a baseball cap or something similar. You will note nothing elseÑno water, no food, no cantle bag, no pommel bag, no sponge or scoop, no sheepskin cover on the saddle, no breast collar, and on and on." No electrolytes, no heart rate monitor, no special padded stirrups, no tights either . . .

Our riding apparel and equipment has changed a lot since that time and some of the equipment is distinctly high-tech. It includes heart rate monitors (HRMs), temperature sensors, scales, and GPS devices in present use with possible future use of monitors for blood sugar level.

In international competition, horse collars with a microchip have already been used to time stamp entering/leaving vet checks, and crossing the finish line.

High-tech equipment such as the above can have positive uses for ensuring better care and the safety of our horses during competition. It can also be used to push horses closer to the maximum edge of what's possible for that horse.

HRM use was initially controversial but now it's standard practice for many riders. When they first became available, it was argued that HRMs were "unfair" as they were expensive and few members could afford them. A HRM can help pace your horse better on climbs or in hot humid conditions and certainly help in determining the level of conditioning your horse has reached.

Use of GPS units can also aid in pacing and conditioning your horse -- plus for me, they're just fun to use. Temperature sensors under the saddle have been used to estimate what the core temperature is for a horse in conditioning and competition and seem to provide a possible safety factor.

Scales, while not really high-tech, can provide useful information during and after a ride on how your horse's hydration is doing.

All of the above equipment is considered non-invasive -- meaning that there's nothing that breaks the horse's skin to gather the information.

The measurement of blood sugar levels before, during, and after competition could also be useful for increasing the safety of horses during competition. It could also be used to change the ingredients of what you feed a horse during competition to maximize the performance of the horse. At the present time, measuring blood sugar levels is considered invasive because blood is drawn.

Ride vets vary on whether the use of blood sugar information during a ride is acceptable or not. If they are made available to the rider during the ride, changes could be made in real time in the horse's diet at the holds. I have mixed feelings on the use of high-tech aids. On the one hand I certainly agree with uses that help make our equine partners safer during rides. On the other hand, uses that enable a horse to be pushed closer to the edge of what that horse can do have inherent risks.

At present, measurements of blood sugar are invasive but it's not long before non-invasive techniques will be available for human use. I'd guess non-invasive equine sensors would not be far behind.

Endurance riding equipment and techniques have changed significantly from the early days with -- I believe -- a much better understanding of how to ride and compete with our equine partners. I hope that future high-tech advances continue this trend.

Possible implications as high-tech equipment evolves are that AERC will have to continue to revise its rules with safety of the horse always being the most important consideration.