Topic:Athletic Horses
The topic of athletic horses encompasses the study and analysis of horses that are trained and conditioned for performance in various disciplines such as racing, show jumping, dressage, and eventing. These horses are subject to specialized training regimens and nutritional plans to optimize their physical capabilities and performance outcomes. Research in this area often focuses on aspects such as biomechanics, cardiovascular fitness, muscle physiology, and injury prevention. This topic includes a collection of peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the physiological adaptations, training methodologies, and health management practices associated with maintaining and enhancing the performance of athletic horses.
Semitendinosus tenotomy for treatment of fibrotic myopathy in the horse. The medical records and follow-up data for 4 horses with fibrotic myopathy of the semitendinosus muscle treated by semitendinosus tenotomy were reviewed. The gait deficit for each of the 4 horses was typical of fibrotic myopathy. Two of the horses had the gait deficit since birth. The efficacy of semitendinosus tenotomy was compared with the traditional treatment of partial myotenectomy of the affected muscle. The functional results in the 4 horses appeared to be equal to partial myotenectomy in returning the horses to athletic function and, compared with what has been reported, was cosmetical...
The effect of training and physical exercise on the energetic metabolism of equine erythrocytes. Erythrocytes, due to their simple metabolic processes, differ greatly from nucleated
cells. Their main metabolite of glycolysis is 2,3-Diphosphoglycerate (2,3-DPG), which
serves also as an energy store for producing ATP in the pyruvate kinase reaction. 2,3-DPG
modifies also the affinity of haemoglobin for oxygen (4). Increase in the concentration of
2,3-DPG, ATP and body temperature, or a decrease in the pH value of blood causes
decreased affinity of haemoglobin for oxygen as blood transverses muscle capillaries,
facilitating oxygen delivery. In equine erythrocytes, the level of ATP is s...
The role of compliance in mammalian running gaits. The running gaits used by both bipedal and quadrupedal animals are reviewed and contrasted. At high speeds, bipeds use both ordinary running, in which the legs move opposite one another, and hopping. Quadrupeds generally use the trot or its variations at moderate speeds, and first the canter and then the gallop as speed increases. Running in both bipeds and quadrupeds generally involves at least one aerial phase per stride cycle, but certain perturbations to running including running in circles, running under enhanced gravity, running on compliant surfaces and running with increased knee flexi...
The effect of racetrack design on gait symmetry of the pacer. A survey of a western Canadian racetrack determined the superelevation and transition curves to be less than the cited design standards. High-speed cinematography was used to film seven Standardbred pacers as they proceeded around one curve of the track at racing speed and for each horse 19 temporal stride parameters were obtained from these films using a film analyzer system. Average velocities were calculated and the mean stride length was found to vary from 5.08 m to 5.77 m. In all frames analyzed the hind foot was observed to contact the track surface prior to the ipsilateral forefoot and ...
Stride characteristics of horses competing in Grand Prix jumping. An investigation was made of the stride characteristics of horses jumping 2 obstacles during a Grand Prix competition. One obstacle was a picket fence and rail 1.3 m high (fence 2), and the other was a coop and rail 1.52 m high (fence 11). Thirteen distance and 22 timing measurements of 17 horses were extracted from high-speed films, using computer-aided analysis. These data were used to compare takeoff and landing of the lead and nonlead legs, the thoracic limbs and pelvic limbs, and fence 2 and fence 11. Paired t-tests were used to compare means and a stepwise regression analysis was done fo...
Use of laser light to treat certain lesions in standardbreds. The final and last-quarter race times and racing classes for a group of Standardbreds were analyzed before and after infrared laser light treatment. These horses had either check ligament injuries, plantar desmitis or pharyngeal lymphoid hyperplasia. A 904-nm infrared laser was used to treat check ligaments at 146 Hz for 26 sec/cm2 of affected area, acute plantar desmitis at 73 Hz and chronic plantar desmitis at 292 Hz for 26 sec/cm2 of affected area, and pharyngeal lymphoid hyperplasia at 146 Hz for 5 minutes. Of 35 horses treated for check ligament injuries, 80% had similar or faster final r...
Responses to submaximal treadmill exercise and training in the horse: changes in haematology, arterial blood gas and acid base measurements, plasma biochemical values and heart rate. Four standardbred horses with subcutaneously relocated carotid arteries were given a seven week training programme of treadmill exercise at a gradient of 19 per cent in order to assess if there were any effects of exercise and training on haematology, arterial blood gas and acid base measurements, plasma biochemistry and heart rate. The exercise consisted of one minute walking at 110 metres/minute followed by five minutes trotting at 200 metres/minute, twice daily in the first week. The period of trotting exercise was increased by one minute per week so that by the seventh week the horses were...
[Various aspects of lactate production and disappearance in trotters during exertion]. Venous lactate concentrations were determined in standard-bred trotters following exercise of varying intensity to obtain a useful parameter in determining the working capacity of horses. After standard exercise, well-trained horses produced less lactate than did inadequately trained horses. During the post-exercise resting period, lactate disappeared faster from the blood in well-trained horses and young lightly trained horses than it did in poorly trained horses. Steady-state training resulted in lower lactate levels than those recorded after racing, whereas interval training resulted in the...
Equine anhidrosis: a review of pathophysiologic mechanisms. Anhidrosis is loss of the ability to sweat. The problem is seen in horses kept in a hot humid climate, and it may cause severe impairment of thermoregulation in the equine athlete. British Thoroughbreds imported to her tropical colonies are the earliest recorded cases, and since then the syndrome has come to be described as one of Thoroughbreds, usually performance athletes, undergoing acclimatization to heat and humidity. A recent epidemiologic study of cases in Florida has shown, however, that many different breeds, and long time inhabitants of a hot climate, may be affected. Equine sweat gl...
Effects of training on cardiorespiratory function in the horse. The effects of 5- and 10-wk treadmill exercise training on cardiorespiratory function were evaluated in the horse. Cardiac output (Q), heart rate (HR), and stroke volume (SV), as well as left ventricular (LVP), aortic (AoP), and mean right atrial (RAP) pressures and the peak first time derivative of LVP (LV dP/dtmax), were measured at rest and at five different levels of exercise up to 90% of initial predicted maximal HR (HRmax). Oxygen uptake (VO2) and respiratory exchange ratio (R) were also obtained under the same conditions. At rest, although HR was no different after training, LV dP/dtmax...
Fractures of the central and third tarsal bones in horses. The case histories and follow-up data for 11 horses with slab fractures of the central or 3rd tarsal bones were examined for information pertaining to the diagnosis, which was difficult to identify, treatment, which was proven ineffective, and the prognosis, which was shown to be poor for return to racing. The purpose of the study was to define the results that could be obtained by nonoperative methods, in an attempt to determine whether surgical treatment was advisable. Nine of the horses were Standardbreds and 2 were Thoroughbreds; all horses were 2 to 4 years old and were being exercised at...
Treadmill for equine locomotion analysis. A treadmill for equine locomotion analysis is described and its potential considered for locomotive research and clinical investigation. The treadmill comprised an endless belt driven by a hydraulic motor at various speeds up to 14 m/sec and the direction of belt movement was reversible. The carrying side of the belt ran over a steel-concrete table which acted as a flat support. The belt itself consisted of a steel base on to which was glued a rubber belt and the surface was covered with a layer of coir matting which permitted some forward sliding of the landing hooves simulating the condition...
Changes in plasma biochemistry in horses competing in a 160 km endurance ride. Plasma biochemical values were measured in 14 horses, before a 160 km endurance ride, immediately after 85 km, immediately after 160 km, after 30 min recovery period and the day after the ride. For statistical analysis, a group of 7 horses that completed the ride at a mean speed of 234 metres per min (m/min) (Fast Group) was compared with 7 horses that completed the ride at a mean speed of 144 m/min (Slow Group). Estimations were made of sodium, potassium, chloride, bicarbonate, glucose, creatinine, urea, bilirubin, iron, total protein, albumin, calcium, phosphate, cholesterol, alkaline phosph...
Cardiovascular effects of submaximal aerobic training on a treadmill in Standardbred horses, using a standardized exercise test. Seven healthy, unexercised, previously trained, adult Standardbred horses were allotted to 2 groups and trained 78 days on a treadmill set at a 7 degree 30' angle. The groups were trained on different schedules, and the effects of training on heart rate, cardiac output, stroke volume, arteriovenous oxygen difference, systemic blood pressure, and venous lactic acid were determined. Measurements were made at rest, during exercise on the treadmill at rates of 55 m/min, 75 m/min, 100 m/min, and 154 m/min, and at 5 minutes after exercise (standardized exercise test). Heart rate and cardiac output d...
A study of the effects of lasering on chronic bowed tendons at Wheatley Hall Farm Limited, Canada, January, 1983. Chronic bowed tendons of horses have been lasered with an infrared 904-nm laser at Wheatley Hall Farm Limited since 1980. A sample of 42 single injury/single treatment standardbreds which were racing within 120 days of laser treatment and met certain criteria, were evaluated for final race times, last quarter race times, and class changes. Results indicate that a significant percent of the standardbreds raced with similar or improved times and classes. Lasering bowed tendons presents a safe and less expensive alternative to traditional treatment methods which often requires a year layoff for t...
A study of physical demands in riding. Thirteen experienced riders and three elite riders underwent bicycle ergometer tests at submaximal and maximal workloads. Oxygen uptake, pulmonary ventilation and heart rate were also studied during riding at a walk, a trot and a canter. The mean maximal oxygen uptake of the experienced riders in the ergometer test (2.71 . min-1) was superior to the average maximal oxygen uptake of other groups of the same age and sex. The average oxygen uptake of the experienced riders in trot sitting was 1.701 . min-1, trot rising 1.681 . min-1 and in canter 1.801 . min-1. The experienced riders used at leas...
Plasma and blood viscosities, and aggregation of red cells in racehorses. Nineteen racehorses have been studied for haemorheologic factors as earlier studies showed a definite correlation between physical fitness and these factors in humans. Results included individual values for all viscosity factors, and the arithmetic means, the latter showing 4.70 +/- 0.49 cP for blood viscosity measured at a shear rate of 180 s-1; 1.100 +/- 0.048 cP for plasma viscosity; 1.045 +/- 0.063 for the rigidity of red cells defined by term 'Tk'; 42.2 +/- 4.1% haematocrit; 290 +/- 39 mg per 100 ml for fibrinogen level; and 278 +/- 75 mm h-1 for aggregation of red cells at 37 degrees C (...
Pedal bone rotation as a prognostic sign in laminitis of horses. We reviewed 91 cases of laminitis in horses admitted to the Michigan State University Veterinary Clinical Center between Jan 1, 1973 and Dec. 30, 1978. From information in the case records and from the results of a telephone questionnaire, cases were classified into 4 categories on the basis of return to athletic function. The degree of pedal bone rotation was inversely correlated with return to athletic performance. Horses with less than 5.5 degrees rotation returned to former athletic function, whereas horses with more than 11.5 degrees rotation lost their use as performance animals. Ponies ...