Horse training involves the systematic process of teaching horses specific behaviors and skills to enhance their performance and manageability. This process encompasses a variety of techniques and methods tailored to the individual horse's temperament, age, and intended use, such as riding, racing, or working. Training regimens aim to develop desired traits such as obedience, agility, and endurance while ensuring the horse's physical and mental well-being. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore various aspects of horse training, including methodologies, behavioral outcomes, and the impact on equine welfare and performance.
Gunson DE, Sweeney CR, Soma LR.Pathologic changes are described in 11 horses that died during racing or training; 9 died of acute pulmonary hemorrhage (exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage), 1 died of exsanguination, and 1 died of CNS trauma. Cardiac lesions were not found in any horse. Severe engorgement of pulmonary vessels, with hemorrhage into alveoli, airways, interstitium, and subpleural tissues, was observed in all 9 horses that died of exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage. Infiltration of eosinophils and/or lymphocytes around vessels and airways was seen in 6 horses. Focally extensive fibrosis was observed in the ...
Art T, Serteyn D, Lekeux P.Pleural, tracheal, pharyngeal and mask pressures as well as airflow and tidal volume of five ponies on a treadmill (incline 8.3 degrees) were recorded simultaneously while resting, walking, trotting slowly, trotting fast, after standing for 30 secs and 5 mins after the end of the exercise. The curves obtained were used to calculate total pulmonary resistance (RL), lower airway resistance (RLA) and upper airway resistance (RUA). The latter was also divided into nasal resistance (Rnas) and laryngeal plus extrathoracic tracheal resistance (Retr + lar). Furthermore, the inspiratory and expiratory ...
Gaffney B, Cunningham EP.Thoroughbred horses have been bred exclusively for racing in England since Tudor times and thoroughbred horse racing is now practised in over 40 countries and involves more than half-a-million horses worldwide. The genetic origins of the thoroughbred go back largely to horses imported from the Middle East and North Africa to England in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. Since the establishment of the Stud Book in 1791, the population has been effectively closed to outside sources, and over 80% of the thoroughbred population's gene pool derives from 31 known ancestors from thi...
Evans DL, Rose RJ.A rapid incremental treadmill exercise test was used to determine the repeatability of the following measurements in exercising horses: maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max), maximal heart rate (HRmax), velocity at a heart rate of 200 beats/min (V-200), oxygen consumption at a heart rate of 200 beats/min (VO2-200), oxygen consumption at HRmax (VO2-HRmax), work rate at a heart rate of 200 beats/min (W-200), work rate at HRmax (W-HRmax) and treadmill velocity at HRmax (V-HRmax). Six Standardbred geldings were exercised on three separate occasions on a treadmill set at an inclination of 6 degrees. ...
Evans DL, Rose RJ.Cardiovascular and respiratory responses to submaximal exercise training were investigated in 6 thoroughbred racehorses. Oxygen uptake, heart rate (HR) and arteriovenous oxygen content difference were measured during incremental treadmill exercise tests, before and after 7 weeks of treadmill training. Cardiac output during exercise was calculated by the direct Fick technique. Maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) was increased by 23% after training, from 129.7 ml/kg/min to 160.0 ml/kg/min. The treadmill speed at which VO2max was attained increased by 19%. The increased aerobic power after training wa...
Freeman DW, Potter GD, Schelling GT, Kreider JL.Nitrogen metabolism was measured in five mature geldings performing varying levels of work that simulated race training. Following an initial maintenance period without forced exercise, workload was increased in succeeding 18-d periods by doubling the distance the horses were galloped in each period from period 2 through 4. A 4-d N balance experiment was conducted at the end of each 18-d period. The maximum distance galloped daily, which was in period 4, was repeated in period 5. Then, workloads were decreased through period 7. Nitrogen balance was determined in two additional periods, 8 and 9...
Rose RJ, Hodgson DR, Kelso TB, McCutcheon LJ, Reid TA, Bayly WM, Gollnick PD.This study determined maximal O2 uptake (VO2max), maximal O2 deficit, and O2 debt in the Thoroughbred racehorse exercising on an inclined treadmill. In eight horses the O2 uptake (VO2) vs. speed relationship was linear until 10 m/s and VO2max values ranged from 131 to 153 ml.kg-1.min-1. Six of these horses then exercised at 120% of their VO2max until exhaustion. VO2, CO2 production (VCO2), and plasma lactate (La) were measured before and during exercise and through 60 min of recovery. Muscle biopsies were collected before and at 0.25, 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, 5, 10, 15, 20, 40, and 60 min after exercis...
Erickson HH, Sexton WL, Erickson BK, Coffman JR.The recognition of the horse as a natural athlete has led to increased interest in equine sports medicine, exercise physiology, new training methods, and factors improving the performance of horses (Engelhardt, 1977; Milne et al., 1977; Bayly et al., 1983b; Persson et al., 1983). A considerable amount of research has been performed in recent years in order to describe the physiological responses of the horse to exercise and training (for reviews see Engelhardt, 1977; Physick-Sheard, 1985; Rose, 1985). Most of these studies, however, have examined the effects of acute exercise training rather t...
Evans DL, Rose RJ.Six Standardbred horses were used to evaluate the time course of pulmonary gas exchange, ventilation, heart rate (HR) and acid base balance during different intensities of constant-load treadmill exercise. Horses were exercised at approximately 50%, 75% and 100% maximum oxygen uptake (VO2 max) for 5 min and measurements taken every 30 s throughout exercise. At all work rates, the minute ventilation, respiratory frequency and tidal volume reached steady state values by 60 s of exercise. At 100% VO2 max, the oxygen consumption (VO2) increased to mean values of approximately 130 ml/kg.min, which ...
Thorén-Tolling K.Serum alkaline Phosphatase isoenzyme (ALP) activity was measured by agarose gel electrophoresis in horses, Swedish half-breds and trotters, of varying age and during different conditions of training. Thus the effects of aging and growing on the isoenzyme activities from birth up to about 3 years of age was studied. The influence of training during the first year of life on the ALP isoenzyme pattern was also evaluated. Furthermore the isoenzyme pattern in adult horses suffering from different kinds of diseases was studied.
In newborn and very young horses normally two different isoenzyme fra...
Ralston SL.A survey was taken of dietary management and training schedules of 54 horses competing in two 160 km endurance races. A total of 52 owners, representing 54 horses, responded to a questionnaire distributed prior to the races. Diet and training schedules were compared between horses that successfully completed the races and those that were eliminated for metabolic reasons. Horses that completed the races were 11.5 +/- 4 years old, weighed 429 +/- 4.5 kg and were ridden 61 +/- 32 km a week when training. Feed intake was reported as "free choice hay or pasture" by 34 of the respondents. Dry matter...
Littlejohn A, Snow DH.These studies investigated circulatory, respiratory and metabolic responses in four Thoroughbred geldings during the first 400 metres of galloping (mean speed 14.4 +/- 0.38 m.s-1), cantering (mean speed 10.0 +/- 0.61 m.s-1) and walking (mean speed 1.58 +/- 0.05 m.s-1) from a standing start. A radio-controlled device which collected blood samples anaerobically during each 100 m section of the exercise track allowed analyses of changes in and functional relationships of the variables measured. During the 400 m gallop, the mean heart rate (HR) increased from 125 to 201 beats.min-1 and the haemato...
Evans DL, Rose RJ.Six detrained Thoroughbred horses performed incremental treadmill tests. Maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) was measured during exercise by analysis of expired gas. The relationships between oxygen consumption (VO2) and work rate, heart rate (HR), cardiac output (Q), stroke volume (SV) and arteriovenous oxygen content difference [C(a-v)O2] were examined during submaximal and maximal exercise. The relative contributions of blood flow and extraction of oxygen from muscle capillaries were assessed during exercise at VO2max. Mean VO2max was 129.7 +/- 2.9 (mean +/- S.E.M.) ml kg-1 min-1, which occurred...
Sugiura T, Matsumura T, Fukunaga Y, Hirasawa K.A sero-epizootiological study was conducted on horses which showed clinical pyrexia at two training centers, each of which maintained 1, 200 to 2, 100 racehorses for training, of the Japan Racing Association. It continued from 1980 to 1985 to clarify the cause of pyrexia, so that measures might be considered for the prevention of infectious disease. A total of 3, 849 horses were found to be affected with pyrexia for the 6 years. Of them, 2, 852 horses were tested to equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1), equine rhinovirus type 1 (ERhV-1), rotavirus and equine adenovirus (EAdV) by collecting paired...
Weber JM, Dobson GP, Parkhouse WS, Wheeldon D, Harman JC, Snow DH, Hochachka PW.This study characterizes the effects of exercise on the cardiac output (Q) and the metabolic rate (VO2) of trained Thoroughbred racehorses. Heart rate, Q, and arteriovenous (a-v)O2 difference were measured at rest and at three levels of submaximal treadmill exercise (1.6 m/s walk and 3-4 m/s trot at 6% incline, and 6.5 m/s horizontal canter). Heart rate and (a-v)O2 difference were also measured during maximal exercise (12.5 m/s gallop, 5% incline) to obtain an estimate of maximum O2 uptake (VO2max). The walk, trot, and canter represented 25, 45, and 55% VO2max. Mean heart rate went from 48.9 (...
Weber JM, Parkhouse WS, Dobson GP, Harman JC, Snow DH, Hochachka PW.Plasma lactate turnover rate of Thoroughbred racehorses was measured by bolus injection of [U-14C]lactate at rest and two levels of submaximal treadmill exercise (3-4 m/s trot, 6% incline, and 6.5 m/s horizontal canter). Our goals were 1) to determine the relative effects of changes in cardiac output and in plasma lactate concentration on turnover rate [using cardiac output data from Weber et al. (28)] and 2) to assess the importance of lactate as a metabolic fuel in a trained animal athlete. Lactate turnover rates were 9.3 mumol.min-1.kg-1 (rest), 75.9 mumol.min-1.kg-1 at the beginning of the...
Bertone JJ, Paull KS, Wingfield WE, Boon JA.M-mode echocardiographic structures, and cardiac function indices, PCV, and total plasma protein values were determined for 34 endurance equine athletes before (base line) and after (after race) a 161-km endurance competition and were compared. The PCV (base-line mean, 37%; after-race mean, 46%) and total plasma protein value (base-line mean, 6.9 g/dl; after-race mean, 7.5 g/dl) increased. Compared with base-line echocardiography, after-race echocardiography indicated an increase in heart rate, as determined from the simultaneous ECG recorded on the echocardiograph (base-line mean, 41 beats/mi...
Hodgson DR, Rose RJ.Muscle biopsy samples were collected from the middle gluteal muscle of seven horses undergoing a nine-month endurance training programme. Samples were collected before the programme began and again after three, six and nine months of training. A fifth sample was collected three months after training ceased. Serial muscle sections were reacted histochemically for myosin adenosine triphosphatase after either acid (pH 4.3 and 4.6) or alkaline (pH 10.3) pre-incubation, and muscle fibres identified as type I, IIA, IIB or IIC. The oxidative capacity of individual fibres was assessed, using the reduc...
Art T, Lekeux P.This study was conducted in order to assess whether exercise- and training-induced cardio-respiratory adjustments are modified during the 10-day period which follows a booster vaccination with an oily adjuvanted inactivated vaccine against influenza and equine herpesvirus-1 (Equiffa). Nine healthy vaccinated thoroughbred horses were used. Six were revaccinated and three were kept as control. All the horses completed a standardised exercise test (SET) that was repeated 4 times, i.e. 10 (SET1) and 2 (SET2) days before revaccination, and 2 (SET3) and 10 (SET4) days after revaccination. During the...
Funkquist P, Sandhagen B, Persson SG, Hedenstierna G, Essén-Gustavsson B, Nyman G.Five Standardbred trotters with red cell hypervolaemia (RCHV) were compared before and after removal of approximately 22% (36 ml/kg bwt) of the total blood volume in order to evaluate the haemodynamic responses, haemorheological alterations and oxygen transport during exercise to fatigue. Data were recorded during submaximal exercise at 4 different speeds on a treadmill and then during continued running at the highest speed step until fatigue. Oxygen uptake (VO2), pulmonary artery pressure (PAP), systemic artery pressure (SAP), heart rate (HR), haematocrit and haemoglobin concentrations (Hb) w...
Kaneene JB, Miller R, Ross W, Gilbert L.Data from two 12 month prospective monitoring programs that followed management, economics and animal health from randomly-sampled equine operations in Michigan were used to determine patterns of health maintenance. Health maintenance measures were grouped, and average uses per year were computed for the most-common measures reported: respiratory, Potomac Horse Fever, neurological and multiple-system vaccinations, deworming, and general farrier work. Factors examined for potential association with health maintenance measure use were numbers of equids and horse-days on the operation, average ag...
Jastrzębska E, Wilk I.The aim of the study was to determine the effect of selected rider-related factors (riders' age and experience, type of preparatory activities, test variant) on the behaviour of recreational horses being prepared for use. Six adult, hot-blooded recreational horses were handled by two female riders that the horses knew and by another two that the horses did not know (two of them were aged 12 and two aged 30). The horses were assessed by a behaviourist for their behaviour during the pre-training activities (entering the box, grooming, cleaning the hooves, bridling, saddling up, taking a horse to...
Nollet H, Deprez P.Since riders nowadays are expecting the highest level of performance from their horses, muscular disorders therefore represent a major problem for the equine athlete. A lot of research has been done to identify muscular disorders and their etiopathogenesis. Both acquired and inherited forms of muscle diseases have been described. In this review only the latter forms will be mentioned. Major signs of all muscle disorders are muscular stiffness, cramping or pain, muscular fasciculations, muscular atrophy and exercise intolerance. Muscle biopsies can help to identify the cause of rhabdomyolysis o...
Brewer K, Machin J, Maylin G, Fenger C, Morales-Briceño A, Tobin T.Gabapentin, 1-(Aminomethyl)cyclohexaneacetic acid, MW 171.240, is a frequently prescribed high dose human medication that is also used recreationally. Gabapentin is orally absorbed; the dose can be 3,000 mg/day and it is excreted essentially unchanged in urine. Gabapentin is stable in the environment and routinely detected in urban wastewater. Gabapentin randomly transfers from humans to racing horses and is at times detected at pharmacologically ineffective / trace level concentrations in equine plasma and urine. In Ohio racing between January 2019 and July 2020,18 Gabapentin identifications...
Sanigavatee K, Poochipakorn C, Charoenchanikran P, Joongpan W, Chanda M.Z-bar shoeing has been implemented to relieve uniaxial palmar pain arising from the structures in the affected region. However, there have been no reports on the long-term application of the z-bar shoe during exercise training regimens. A 10-year-old mixed-breed show jumping pony presented with an occasional short stride and abnormal rhythm while turning during routine exercise for three months. Gait analysis conducted by trotting off on both hard and soft surfaces showed no lameness in the straight line on both types of surfaces. However, right forelimb lameness was detected with moderate and...
van den Hoven R.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...
Elmeua González M, Šarabon N.How the modification of saddle fitting parameters in horse riding affects rider's kinetics is very uncertain. The aim of this study is to describe how manipulating the two main adjustments that an end-user is likely to perform (saddle tilt and stirrup length) affects the biomechanics of a horse rider on a living horse. Eleven showjumpers volunteered to take part in this study. Each participant performed a 120-strides standardization trial at trot and canter, with 0° saddle tilt and stirrup length that would position the rider's knee at 90°. Following the standardization trial, four intervent...
Harkins JD, Mundy GD, Stanley S, Woods WE, Sams RA, Richardson DR, Tobin T.Isoxsuprine is a therapeutic medication used to treat navicular disease and other lower limb problems in horses and is one of the more frequently detected therapeutic agents in racing horses. In a crossover study, horses were administered isoxsuprine i.v. to determine the character and duration of its pharmacological effects. Isoxsuprine significantly increased heart rate 5-150 min following injection. Unrestrained activity following isoxsuprine treatment was significantly greater than control activity for 105 min after treatment. There was an apparent, although statistically nonsignificant, i...
Couroucé A, Corde R, Valette JP, Cassiat G, Hodgson DR, Rose RJ.The purpose of this study was to determine the optimal treadmill slope for trotters to produce the same heart rate and blood lactate responses as on the track during a standardized exercise test. Nine 2-year-old French trotters performed exercise tests on a training track and on a treadmill set at an incline of 0, 2 or 4%. For all horses, track testing was performed on day 1 and then on the treadmill according to a Latin-square design. The track test utilized three steps each of 3 min at speeds of 470, 530, 590 m/min and the same speeds were used on the treadmill. Derived physiological variabl...
Miyakoshi D, Senba H, Shikichi M, Maeda M, Shibata R, Misumi K.This study aimed to evaluate the influence of radiographic abnormalities of 2-year-old Thoroughbred horses that were listed at in-training sales in Japan, on whether they started to race or not at 2-3 years of age. Radiographs of 850 2-year-old Thoroughbreds in the in-training sales repository from 2007 to 2010 were reviewed, and 26 categories of radiographic abnormalities were found. Forty-three horses (5.1%, 43/850) did not start a race at 2-3 years of age. In accordance with the racing results for this age category, as determined by Fisher's exact test and multiple logistic regression analy...
Endruweit M, Dargel J, Siewe J, Becker I, Sobottke R.Background: Vaulting is the least studied equestrian sports regarding the occurrence of injuries. As its sequences of motion do not compare to riding, vaulting must be assessed separately. Material and Methods: This retrospective, questionnaire-aided survey was aimed to gain insight into the overall frequency of injuries among equestrian vaulters. The second part of the study looked into the knee injuries that occurred. Survey forms were sent to 60 vaulting and equestrian clubs all over Germany, making for a response rate of 63 %. Results: 95 % of 624 responding athletes were female. The p...
Rogers CW, Davies AS, Pfeiffer DU, Davie PS.To quantify the linear and temporal characteristics of the trot of 3-day event horses during the preliminary horse inspection of an advanced grade CCI*** 3-day event. Methods: A cross sectional study was made of the kinematics of 24 3-day-event horses during the first horse inspection at a CCI*** level S-day event. Video footage was digitised and linear and temporal measurements were made. Results: The horses trotted for an average of 10.44+/-1.55 strides. Spatial measurements were made on an average of 5.66+/-0.92 consecutive strides when the horses were within the calibration zone. The horse...
Caure S, Bonomelli N, Carro M, Leveillard D, Blanville F, Mortagne P, Cousty M, Weller R.Although the effects of both the surfaces and plantar angles on equine locomotion have been widely discussed, limited scientific data are available. Methods: Our objectives were to determine the effects of two surfaces (asphalt and sand) and of 3-degree hind toe or heel elevation on horse kinematics in an experimental study. Six saddle horses were shod with a reference shoeing (REF), characterized by a fore aluminium (REF F) and hind steel racehorse (REF H) shoeing. Two dimensional kinematic videos compared horse's kinematic parameters when walking and trotting on asphalt and sand. On asphalt,...
Quintanar MN, Millar TP, Burd MA.The limb of the equine athlete is subjected to all types of various stressors during exercise. To ensure the health of the horse and to prevent the possibility of lameness, it has been a common practice to apply cold therapy to the distal limb of the horse pre- and post-exercise. Commercially available boots are widely available for the application of cold therapy. To test the effectiveness of the boot, 6 healthy performance level sport type horses were exercised at a walk, trot, and canter in a round-pen and then subjected to the application of the ice boot for 20 minutes on a treatment leg, ...
van der Harst MR, van de Lest CH, Degroot J, Kiers GH, Brama PA, van Weeren PR.A detailed and comprehensive insight into the normal maturation process of the different tissues that make up functional units of the locomotor system such as joints is necessary to understand the influence of early training on musculoskeletal tissues. Objective: To study simultaneously the maturation process in the entire composite structure that makes up the bearing surface of a joint (cartilage, subchondral and trabecular bone) in terms of biochemical changes in the tissues of juvenile horses at 2 differently loaded sites of the metacarpophalangeal joint, compared to a group of mature horse...
Pereira EL, Bataglion GA, Mazo JZ.Based on the theoretical assumptions of Norbert Elias, we sought to understand the figurations of equine-assisted therapy in Rio Grande do Sul from 1970 to 2000. To this end, the research corpus consisted of official documents, newspapers and magazines. Based on the concept of figuration, the documentation analyzed demonstrated technical-scientific elements linked to the fields of healthcare, education and horseback riding, coming from equestrianism and shared in the practice of equine-assisted therapy. The interrelations established between these different areas allowed the practice to take o...
Escribano BM, Castejon FM, Santisteban R, Aguera EI, Rubio MD.A study has been made of the variations experienced by the hemogram and blood volume indices in 16 Andalusian horses after carrying out an exercise test of increasing intensity consisting of 3 sequences of 1000 m each, before and after being subjected to a daily exercise programme for two months. Samples were taken by external jugular vein puncture: while at rest, within the first minute of finalizing each exercise stage and at 10 and 15 minutes of recovery. Both the red blood cells and the hematocrit value showed a significant decrease in their mean values after two months training; conversel...
Lewczuk D.The aim of the present study was to verify the influence of distance between obstacles in combination for free jumping test on linear and temporal kinematic parameters of the jump. Investigated groups of halfbred stallions being prepared for 100 days performance test (two groups, 36 horses in total) were filmed on different distances between main doublebarre obstacle and last cross-pole in the jumping lane. Both groups of horses were filmed during their regular work in the same training centre 1 week before performance test. Jumping parameters were obtained on the same size of the obstacle. Da...
Leung DKK, Wong ASY, Zhou QL, Wan TSM, Ho ENM.A non-target variable Data Independent Acquisition (vDIA) workflow based on accurate mass measurements using a Q Exactive OrbiTrap is presented for the first time for equine doping control testing. The vDIA workflow uses a combination of MS1 events (1 to 2) and multiple vDIA events to cover the analytes of interest. The workflow basically captures a digital image of a sample allowing all relevant MS1 and MS2 data to be recorded. In theory, the workflow can accommodate an unlimited number of analytes as long as they are amenable to the sample extraction protocol and fall within the mass limits ...
Seck M, Jobling R, Brown AF.Bits used for cart horses in Senegal are typically made of recovered construction iron and often have defects related to design, shape, fit and metal quality. Consequently, there is widespread presence of bit-related oral injury amongst these equids. It was hypothesised that improving bit design would ameliorate bit-related welfare issues for working cart horses. This study aimed to develop locally made alternative bit prototypes and test their efficacy as less harmful to working horses, and their acceptability to their drivers. Eight animal-based welfare indicators (four physical and four beh...
Michio Clark J, Connor TA, Post A, Blaine Hoshizaki T, Ní Annaidh A, Gilchrist MD.The performance of equestrian helmets to protect against brain injuries caused by fall impacts against compliant surfaces such as turf has not been studied widely. We characterize the kinematic response of simulated fall impacts to turf through field tests on horse racetracks and laboratory experiments. The kinematic response characteristics and ground stiffness at different going ratings (GRs) (standard measurement of racetrack condition) were obtained from 1 m and 2 m drop tests of an instrumented hemispherical impactor onto a turf racetrack. The "Hard" rating resulted in higher peak lin...
Galuppo LD, Simpson EL, Greenman SL, Dowd JP, Ferraro GL, Meagher DM.To report clinical evaluation of headless compression screws for repair of metacarpal/metatarsal (MC/MT3) condylar fractures in horses. Methods: Retrospective case study. Methods: Racing Thoroughbreds (n=16) with nondisplaced lateral condylar fractures of MC/MT 3. Methods: Medical records (1999-2004) of horses with nondisplaced longitudinal fractures of the lateral condyle of MC/MT3 were reviewed. Pre-operative variables retrieved were: patient age, gender, limb involvement, injury occurrence, fracture length, and width, evidence of palmar comminution and degenerative joint disease, number of ...
Kawahisa-Piquini G, Bass L, Pezzanite LM, Moorman VJ.The role of hoof morphology is increasingly recognized as a factor associated with lameness incidence in performance horses. The primary objective was to evaluate effect of training initiation on hoof unevenness in Quarter Horses (n = 42; 29 2-year-olds, 13 3-year-olds) over 6-months (m) in training (m0, m2, m4, and m6). Horses were objectively assessed for lameness (inertial sensor system) and photographs and radiographs of feet were taken. Hoof measurements were taken (palmar/plantar angles, frog base width/length, toe length/angle, heel length/angle, heel/foot width, wall height/angle), a...
Ronéus N, Essén-Gustavsson B.To determine whether performance capacity in a group of young trained Standardbreds is related to skeletal muscle characteristics and metabolic response to exercise. Methods: 13 clinically normal 2-year-old Standardbreds. Methods: Venous blood and middle gluteal muscle biopsy samples were obtained from each horse within 1 to 2 minutes after trotting at high speed for 1,600 m. Results: There was a positive correlation between plasma lactate and muscle glucose-6-phosphate (G-6-P) concentrations and trotting speed. There was a negative correlation between muscle adenosine triphosphate concentrati...
Meier H.The biography of Colonel Hermann Schwyter, equine surgeon of the Swiss Army from 1928 to 1937, and the history of training of farriers in Switzerland since the 18th century are presented. Hermann Schwyters dissertation examined the changes of equine hoof confirmation as a result of standing and gait in approximately 2,000 horses and numerous anatomical specimens. He defines the foot placement, describes possible variations, their causes and effects. Significant is also his study of the compression pathology in horses and mules. His recommendations are still valid today. The present article ref...
Henderson B, Bramlage LR, Koenig J, Monteith G.To assess the influence of humeral stress fracture location on the time to return to racing and postinjury performance of thoroughbred racehorses. Methods: Retrospective study (1992-2015). Methods: Thoroughbred racehorses (n = 131) that presented for lameness with the sole diagnosis of humeral stress fractures in the lame limb, as determined by scintigraphy or radiology. Methods: Sex, fracture site, age, starts, earnings, and average earnings per race were examined for differences in pre-stress and post-stress fracture diagnosis for the entire population as well as individual stress fracture l...
Pick M.Intensive strain of racing-horses during training and race is not an end in itself but should be understood from the social task to create exceptionally efficient horses. This roughness in sports obliges the responsible associations to issue rigorous regulations for the protection of horses. In this paper, some physical and psychical disorders of racing-horses are described. Improved keeping conditions as well as performance-adapted training methods will help to avoid defects. The aids being used during training and races are critically investigated on their effects according to the regulation...
Campos Schweitzer A, Mespoulhès-Rivière C, Möller D, Ducharme N, Genton M, Farfan M, Rossignol F.Selective laryngeal reinnervation using the first and second cervical nerve (C1C2) is a treatment option for recurrent laryngeal neuropathy that aims to restore the function of the cricoarytenoideus dorsalis (CAD) muscle. Despite the technique's satisfying success rate, it has several limitations. These triggered the search for another potential donor nerve that could reduce CAD muscle fatigue and shorten rehabilitation. The ventral branch of the spinal accessory nerve, providing motor innervation to the sternomandibularis (SM) muscle, was identified as a potentially well-adapted nerve. Object...