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.
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...
Mayhew IG, Ferguson HO.A group of 834 Thoroughbred horses was surveyed on four central Florida farms for clinical and epidemiologic features of anhidrosis. In addition, comparative analysis was made of serum thyroxine, serum electrolytes, and fractional urinary electrolyte excretion ratios. An overall disease prevalence of 6.12% was observed. Training horses and nonpregnant broodmares had a predilection for the disease. Adolescent horses were infrequently affected. There was no correlation with sex or color. Comparative clinical signs, related to thermoregulatory compromise, included tachypnea and hyperthermia. Long...
Denny JE.Horses receiving a pelleted or cubed dietary supplementation with roughage, have serum inorganic phosphate (SIP) concentrations consistently below an accepted mean of 1,032 mmol l-1 or 3, 1 mg dl-1. Further, it has been reported that the best eight, two-year-old Irish Thoroughbred track performers of 51 horses tested over a 10 month period, had significantly lower SIP concentrations than the worst eight track performers. In an endeavour to assess any nutritive effect on SIP concentrations and also to assess any effect of SIP concentrations on track performance, metabolic blood profiles from 30...
Drevemo S, Fredricson I, Hjertén G, McMiken D.Ten trotting Standardbred colts were recorded by high-speed cinematography at the ages of eight, 12 and 18 months. The horses were trotting on a treadmill operating at 4.0 m/secs. Five horses were subjected to a programme of intensified training from eight months of age, whereas the others were not trained and acted as controls. The films were analysed on a semi-automatic film-reading equipment and a number of variables used to demonstrate the gait symmetry were calculated and scaled by computer. Certain differences between left and right diagonal and contralateral pair of limbs, respectively,...
Martin BB, Klide AM.Fifteen horses that could not train or perform their sport at an acceptable level because of chronic back pain of 2 to 24 months' duration, and that did not obtain lasting improvement from other previous treatments, were treated with acupuncture. The treatments consisted of injection of 1 ml of sterile saline (0.9% NaCl) solution, with no preservatives, at 9 acupuncture points. The horses were treated once a week for a mean of 9 treatments. The mean number of treatments before obvious improvement was 4. After treatment, 13 of the 15 horses had apparent alleviation of their signs of pain and co...
Leach DH, Sprigings EJ, Laverty WH.Standard univariate and bivariate statistical methods and two multivariate methods, stepwise regression and factor analyses, were used to analyze 17 stride-timing measurements of 22 racing Thoroughbreds filmed at the beginning of races. All horses were in a right-lead transverse gallop. Data were extracted from frame-by-frame analysis of 16-mm film taken with a high-speed camera. The mean stride duration was 0.405 s and the mean stride frequency was 2.47 strides/s. Stride duration had a higher correlation to the suspension-phase duration (r = 0.864) than to stride-stance-phase duration (r = 0....
Slais K, Nielen MW, Brinkman UA, Frei RW.Amphetamine-type drugs with a wide polarity range have been screened in both human and horse urine using on-line pre-concentration on pre-columns packed with hydrophobic and cation-exchange sorbents in series and gradient microbore high-performance liquid chromatography. The underivatized amphetamines were identified by UV detection at 210 nm. The method has potential for the automated liquid chromatographic screening of amphetamines in urine, e.g., for doping control.
Raschka C, Feuerbach L.Using an online questionnaire, the injuries of 649 acrobats on horseback were recorded (636 female, 13 male, average age 20.8 years, average sports time 12.1 years). 64% of the athletes practised their sport in the upper and 34% in the lower performance classes. 62.7% of the athletes hurt themselves on vaulting at least once during their sports time. Most injuries occured at the lower limbs (57.5%), particularly on foot (31.2%) and knee (22.2%). At the upper limbs (26.1%), injuries were most often registered at hands (8.4%) and shoulders (6.0%). 16.4% of the athletes hurt themselves on trunk, ...
Delvescovo B, Mullen KR, Eicker SW, Ivanek R, Ainsworth DM.Previously we described a clustering of dysphagic foal cases on a Pennsylvania (PA) Standardbred farm which was associated with exposure of pregnant mares to high concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the well water. The effect of dysphagia on future athleticism was uncertain. Objective: To determine if, as adults, dysphagic foals were less likely to race and if athleticism (age of first race, Speed Index and Earnings Per Start Index) differed from that of healthy foals that raced as adults. Methods: Prospective cohort study. Methods: All foals born during the study peri...
McLellan J, Plevin S.Sesamoiditis is believed to be associated with injury to the suspensory branch attachment and is a common radiographic finding in yearling Thoroughbreds. No study has investigated relationships between yearling sesamoiditis and subsequent development of suspensory ligament branch injury (SLBI) in early racehorse training. Objective: To establish the prevalence of SLBI within a population of juvenile training racehorses and retrospectively investigate relationships between clinical signs of SLBI and sesamoiditis to determine if sesamoiditis is a risk factor for clinical suspensory branch injury...
Ramzan PH, Palmer L.Musculoskeletal injury is the most common cause of lost training days in the young Thoroughbred horse in flat race training. To date, there has been little investigation of the regional patterns of injury frequently observed by clinicians in racehorse practice. The present study was conducted to determine incidence of musculoskeletal injuries in Thoroughbreds in training in Newmarket, United Kingdom. Veterinary records for all horses resident in three large (>100 horse) training yards were assessed for occurrence of significant musculoskeletal injury. A total of 248 injuries were recorded in 2...
Kimura R, Borankulova S, Maratbek SZ.This study aimed to evaluate the effect of differences in trainer skills on horse training during the early stages of riding habituation by measuring the levels of stress and changes in stress levels. Among nine untrained horses employed, five in Group A were trained by two low-skilled trainers, whereas the remaining four in Group B were trained by two high-skilled trainers using the traditional Kazakh method. Salivary α-amylase concentration was measured as a biomarker of stress immediately before and after each riding session during the training period. In the duration of riding and mooring...
Harrison SM, Whitton RC, Kawcak CE, Stover SM, Pandy MG.Storage and utilization of strain energy in the elastic tissues of the distal forelimb of the horse is thought to contribute to the excellent locomotory efficiency of the animal. However, the structures that facilitate elastic energy storage may also be exposed to dangerously high forces, especially at the fastest galloping speeds. In the present study, experimental gait data were combined with a musculoskeletal model of the distal forelimb of the horse to determine muscle and joint contact loading and muscle-tendon work during the stance phase of walking, trotting and galloping. The flexor te...
Bolwell CF, Rogers CW, French NP, Firth EC.There is increasing evidence suggesting that early exercise in Thoroughbred racehorses may be beneficial to the development of the musculoskeletal system. At present, information on the exercise programmes and health problems of individual yearlings during a sales preparation is scant. Objective: To describe the exercise and health problems of Thoroughbred yearlings during preparation for sales, and to identify variations in exercise between and within farms. Methods: A prospective cohort study was used to collect exercise and health information from 18 farms across New Zealand. Daily exercise...
Strand E, Martin GS, Haynes PF, McClure JR, Vice JD.To compare racing performance before and after prosthetic laryngoplasty for treatment of laryngeal neuropathy in inexperienced and experienced Thoroughbred racehorses. Methods: Retrospective study. Methods: 52 Thoroughbred racehorses treated with prosthetic laryngoplasty for laryngeal neuropathy. Methods: Lifetime race records were analyzed by use of a verified regression model. Individual race records and hospital records were also reviewed. Results: Experienced horses had a decline in performance, as measured by performance index, earnings percentage, and mean prediction error, during the 6-...
Prescott JF.A proposal for the development of Canadian veterinary education and of the organization of the profession is described. There should be one veterinary school with four branches (the current colleges). A student would train at any college in comparative medicine for two and one-half years and then train for 12 months or more in a specialty taught at one or more colleges. These specialties are general veterinary practice, poultry practice, public health and regulatory medicine, ruminant practice, swine practice, equine practice, small animal practice, fish medicine, fur-bearing and exotic animal...
Mayhew IG, Ferguson HO.A group of 834 Thoroughbred horses was surveyed on four central Florida farms for clinical and epidemiologic features of anhidrosis. In addition, comparative analysis was made of serum thyroxine, serum electrolytes, and fractional urinary electrolyte excretion ratios. An overall disease prevalence of 6.12% was observed. Training horses and nonpregnant broodmares had a predilection for the disease. Adolescent horses were infrequently affected. There was no correlation with sex or color. Comparative clinical signs, related to thermoregulatory compromise, included tachypnea and hyperthermia. Long...
Flores FM, Dagnese F, Mota CB, Copetti F.Hippotherapy uses horseback riding movements for therapeutic purposes. In addition to the horse's movement, the choice of equipment and types of floor are also useful in the intervention. The quantification of dynamic parameters that define the interaction of the surface of contact between horse and rider provides insight into how the type of floor surface variations act upon the subject's postural control. Objective: To test whether different types of surfaces promote changes in the amplitude (ACOP) and velocity (VCOP) of the center of pressure (COP) displacement during the rider's contact wi...
Tatarniuk DM, Hill JA, Modesto RB, Swor TM, Caston SS, Kersh KD.To report the outcome of horses used in western performance disciplines after deep branch lateral plantar neurectomy/fasciotomy surgery for hind limb proximal suspensory desmopathy (PSD). Methods: Retrospective analysis. Methods: Twenty-one client-owned horses. Methods: Medical records were reviewed (2009-2019) for horses involved in western performance disciplines that had been treated with deep branch lateral plantar neurectomy and plantar fasciotomy for lameness due to hind limb PSD. Follow-up was obtained by reexamination and/or verbal interviews with owners >2 years postoperatively. Res...
Ebert M, Moore-Colyer MJS.The aim of this study was to estimate the energy requirements of performance horses in active, variable training in the field. Sixty horses in England and Switzerland were measured over 2-wk periods and, for 15 of these, the measurement period was extended, ranging from 21 to 42 wk. Energy intake was estimated by measuring daily feed consumption. Energy output was measured using heart rate (HR) monitors during 608 training sessions, relating HR to volume of oxygen (VO₂) and converting VO₂ to energy. Field maintenance requirements were calculated by deducting the marginal energy cost of tra...
Baragli P, Ducci M, Gatta D, Gazzano A, Sighieri C.Catecholamines (CAT) play an important role in modulating the response to exercise. But the kinetics of CAT changes during exercise are difficult to study due to their short biological half-life. Objective: Learning about variations in plasma CAT levels during training could furnish new information regarding sweating, redistribution of blood flow and energy metabolism. Methods: Four untrained Standardbreds, adapted to treadmill work, were used to determine the influence of training on plasma adrenaline (A) and noradrenaline (NA) kinetics. Horses underwent a standardised exercise test (SET) on ...
Becker-Birck M, Schmidt A, Wulf M, Aurich J, von der Wense A, Möstl E, Berz R, Aurich C.Bringing the head and neck of ridden horses into a position of hyperflexion is widely used in equestrian sports. In our study, the hypothesis was tested that hyperflexion is an acute stressor for horses. Salivary cortisol concentrations, heart rate, heart rate variability (HRV) and superficial body temperature were determined in horses (n = 16) lunged on two subsequent days. The head and neck of the horse was fixed with side reins in a position allowing forward extension on day A and fixed in hyperflexion on day B. The order of treatments alternated between horses. In response to lunging, ...
Marcoux M, Picandet V, Céleste C, Macieira S, Morisset S, Rossier Y, Schambourg M, Jean D.This study was aimed at evaluating the tolerability and the efficacy of palatal sclerotherapy in juvenile standardbred racehorses with easily audible "snoring-like" respiratory noises suspected to be the result of intermittent dorsal displacement of the soft palate. The palate of 8 horses was injected with sodium tetradecyl sulfate under videoendoscopic guidance. Palatal sclerotherapy resulted in resolution of the respiratory noise in 7 horses, improvement of performance in 6 horses, and mild side effects in only 3 horses. This preliminary study suggests that palatal sclerotherapy is a safe, r...
Dunnett CE, Marlin DJ, Harris RC.The aim of the present study was to relate changes in muscle oxidative capacity and free fatty acid flux in response to oil supplementation to fuel utilisation during subsequent exercise of varying intensities. Following 10 weeks of oil supplementation there was an increased capacity for fat utilisation during low and moderate intensity exercise as indicated by a lower respiratory exchange ratio (RER) (P<0.05). We suggest that this was contributed to by a parallel increase in the oxidative capacity of muscle as indicated by a significant increase in the activity of muscle citrate synthase (...
Adachi M, Aoi S, Kamimura T, Tsuchiya K, Matsuno F.Quadrupedal mammals have fore-aft asymmetry in their body structure, which affects their walking and running dynamics. However, the effects of asymmetry, particularly in the transverse plane, remain largely unclear. In this study, we examined the effects of fore-aft asymmetry on quadrupedal trotting in the transverse plane from a dynamic viewpoint using a simple model, which consists of two rigid bodies connected by a torsional joint with a torsional spring and four spring legs. Specifically, we introduced fore-aft asymmetry into the model by changing the physical parameters between the fore a...
Kronfeld DS.Does dietary fat supplementation during conditioning improve athletic performance, especially in the heat? Fat adaptation has been used to increase energy density, decrease bowel bulk and faecal output and reduce health risks associated with hydrolysable carbohydrate overload. It may also reduce spontaneous activity and reactivity (excitability), increase fatty acid oxidation, reduce CO2 production and associated acidosis, enhance metabolic regulation of glycolysis, improve both aerobic and anaerobic performance and substantially reduce heat production. A thermochemical analysis of ATP generat...
Brama PA, Karssenberg D, Barneveld A, van Weeren PR.The objective of this study was to map topographically contact areas and pressure distributions on the proximal articular surface (PAS) of the proximal phalanx (PI) under various clinically relevant loading conditions. Left and right forelimbs of 13 mature horses were transected halfway down the radius and loaded in a position mimicking the weightbearing attitude close to the midstance phase. Five loads were used which corresponded with loads that can be expected in different gaits or during athletic performance (stance: 1800 N, walk: 3600 N, trot: 5400 N, gallop: 10,500 N and jumping: 12,000 ...
Blake KR, Affolter VK, Lowenstine LJ, Vilches-Moure JG, le Jeune SS.A 10-year-old Lipizzaner stallion was evaluated over the course of 1.5 years because of intermittent, recurrent colic. Results: The horse was initially treated medically for gastric ulcers; dietary changes were made, and a deworming protocol was instituted, without resolution of colic episodes. Subsequently, the horse underwent exploratory celiotomy and a large colon volvulus was identified with diffuse colonic wall thickening. A pelvic flexure biopsy sample was submitted for histologic examination, which revealed lymphocytic (CD3-positive T cells) myenteric ganglionitis (MG). The horse develo...
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...
Legg KA, Gee EK, Breheny M, Gibson MJ, Rogers CW.The Thoroughbred racing industry faces new and competing pressures to operate within a modern, changing society. Three major moderators drive the focus and productivity of the industry worldwide: economic sustainability, horse biology and social licence to operate. This review proposes that despite the apparent homogeneity in the structure of racing across jurisdictions due to international regulation of the sport, there are significant differences within each jurisdiction in each of the three moderators. This creates challenges for the comparison of injury risk factors for racehorses within t...
Steel CM, Devery S, Hance SR, Adkins AR, Hitchens PL.Fragmentation of the dorsal aspect of the distal talus (FDDT), at the dorsolateral articular margin of the proximal intertarsal joint (PITJ) on pre-sale radiographs of yearling Thoroughbreds has not been previously described and data to support decisions made by veterinarians to predict future racing potential of horses with these lesions are lacking. Methods: In this retrospective case-control study we aimed to determine the prevalence of FDDT in juvenile Thoroughbreds and to report their race records. From a database of survey and repository radiographic examinations of 5709 horses, 36 with ...
Singer ER, Barnes J, Saxby F, Murray JK.Two related studies on injuries sustained by event horses during competition and during training are reported. During the cross-country phase of competition, the most common injuries were lacerations and abrasions to the carpus and stifle. Superficial digital flexor tendonitis and exertional rhabdomyolysis were significantly more common during Cours Complete Internationale (CCI) competitions compared to one-day event (ODE) competitions. The difference in injury types at ODEs and CCI competitions probably relates to the increased athletic demands of the CCI and the closer veterinary observation...
McDonnell SM.Despite the suboptimal aspects of domestic breeding conditions compared with the natural conditions under which their reproductive behavior evolved, most domestic stallions can adapt to management and breeding programs. Most respond adequately or quickly learn to safely abide the restraint and direction of a human handler, and can adapt to changes in methods of breeding for semen collection. If not, the problems can range from inadequate or variable sexual interest and response to overenthusiastic or aggressive response beyond the ability of the handlers to safely direct and control. This arti...
Barrey E, Galloux P, Valette JP, Auvinet B, Wolter R.The purpose of this study was to compare the velocity-dependent changes in stride length and stride frequency of horses performing the same incremental exercise test first on a track with a rider and then on a treadmill with a 0 and 3.5% slope successively. Seven French saddle horses undertook the exercise test which consisted of 5 stages of increasing speed for 3 min each with 1 min rest between each stage (1.6, 4.2, 8.3, 9.2 and 10 m/s). The horses were recorded by use of a video camera, and the tapes were analysed with regard to gait parameters. At 1.6, 8.3, 9.2 and 10 m/s, stride frequenci...
Hubbell JA, Hinchcliff KW, Muir WW, Robertson JT, Sams RA, Schmall LM.To determine the effects of walking, standing, or standing with a splint on 1 forelimb on rate of recuperation of horses after a brief, intense bout of exercise. Methods: 6 adult Thoroughbreds (435 to 542 kg). Methods: Horses were preconditioned by exercise on a treadmill to establish a uniform level of fitness. Once fit, the treadmill speed causing each horse to exercise at 120% of its maximal oxygen consumption was determined and was used in simulated races at 14-day intervals. Horses were instrumented for collection of arterial and mixed venous blood samples for measurement of acid-base sta...
Verdegaal EJMM, Howarth GS, McWhorter TJ, Delesalle CJG.Hyperthermia is a performance and welfare issue for exercising horses. The thermoregulatory stressors associated with exercise have typically been estimated by responses in the laboratory. However, monitoring surface skin temperature (T ) coincident with core temperature (T ) has not previously been investigated in horses exercising in the field. We investigated the suitability of monitoring surface T as a metric of the thermoregulatory response, and simultaneously investigated its relationship with T using gastrointestinal (GI) temperature. We evaluated T in 13 endurance horses competing...
Massányi M, Halo M, Mlyneková E, Kováčiková E, Tokárová K, Greń A, Massányi P, Halo M.The performance of sport horses is conditioned not only by the quality of its gene pool, but also by a large number of external factors. The most dominant being nutrition, quality of breeding, level of zootechnical care and the quality of the sports rider and coach. Important factor is the process of individuals' adaptation to the training load occurring during the training itself. This study was focused on the analysis of salivary cortisol levels as well as hematological and biochemical blood parameters in relation to load to which the tested horses were subjected. In the study 14 horses of s...
