Performance horses are equines specifically trained and conditioned for activities that require a high level of athleticism, such as racing, dressage, show jumping, and eventing. These horses undergo specialized training regimens to enhance their physical capabilities, including speed, endurance, agility, and strength. The management of performance horses often involves tailored nutrition plans, regular veterinary care, and specific conditioning programs to optimize their performance and minimize the risk of injury. This topic covers peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the physiology, training methodologies, health management, and performance outcomes of these horses in various competitive disciplines.
König von Borstel U, Kienapfel K, McLean A, Wilkins C, McGreevy P.The article reports a meta-analysis of 58 peer-reviewed studies investigating on dorsoventral hyperflexion of the neck in horses, a practice under substantial public and scientific scrutiny for the past two decades. The following databases were last searched on 28.05.2023: CAB, Google Scholar, Web of Science, NAL/Agricola, PubMed and ScienceDirect. After evaluating the conclusions of each study, we performed statistical analyses to establish a consensus on welfare and performance (performance marks, kinematics and musculoskeletal) outcomes in horses performing with a hyperflexed head and neck ...
Philip M, Kal AKK, Subhahar MB, Karatt TK, Graiban FM, Ajeebsanu MM, Joseph M, Jose SV.Phosphodiesterase 4 (PDE4) inhibitors are a newer class of drugs that induce bronchodilation and have anti-inflammatory effects, making them susceptible to misuse as performance enhancers in competitive sports. Methods: This study explores the metabolic conversion of PDE4 inhibitor ibudilast in thoroughbred horses after oral administration and in vitro using equine liver microsomes and Cunninghamella elegans. A liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry method was used to postulate the plausible structures of the detected metabolites. Results: A total of 20 in vivo metabolites wer...
Mata F, Franca I, Araújo J, Paixão G, Lesniak K, Cerqueira JL.Hoof trimming and shoeing determine the horse's hoof shape and balance. Hoof conformation plays a crucial role in limb biomechanics and can consequently prevent or predispose to injury. This study investigated the relationship between the morphometric characteristics of the horse's hoof, specifically, the dorsal hoof wall angle (DHWA), the coronet band circumference (CBC), and lameness in 73 horses categorised as undertaking either show jumping, dressage, or riding school activities. Results from logistic regression indicated that horses with either a combination of acute DHWA with large CBC, ...
Cassiers V, McNally T.Palatal dysfunction (PD), which encompasses palatal instability (PI) and intermittent dorsal displacement of the soft palate, is the most common performance-limiting upper respiratory tract obstruction in young Thoroughbred racehorses. Soft palate thermocautery (SPT) performed under general anaesthesia is a routinely performed procedure for PD in some countries, but the procedure for and outcome of SPT performed under standing sedation has not been published. (1) To describe a technique for SPT performed under standing sedation; and (2) to assess post-operative performance in horses compared t...
Kim LD, Kreitner K, Scott DM, Seabaugh K, Duncan CG, Magzamen S.Limited research exists on impacts of air pollution on non-human mammals, particularly animal athletes such as Thoroughbred racehorses. Athletes have a greater risk of exposure as heightened exertion and increased airflow carry more pollutants deeper into the respiratory tract. Objective: To provide insights into the impact of ambient air pollution, particularly fine particulate matter (PM), on race speed. Methods: Retrospective observational study. Methods: Data were obtained from The Jockey Club Information Systems, covering 31 407 winning races by Thoroughbred horses in California spannin...
Giusto G, Gandini M.The return to performance after colic surgery is crucial for competition horses. While studies have investigated racehorse performance following colic surgery by analysing racing participation and earnings, this approach does not apply to showjumping horses, leaving a gap in the literature regarding their objective performance evaluation. Objective: To assess the short- and long-term survival and return to performance in showjumping horses after colic surgery. Methods: Retrospective case series. Methods: Medical records of horses with acute colic requiring surgical treatment were analysed, and...
Nankervis K, Tranquille C, Tacey J, Deckers I, MacKechnie-Guire R, Walker V, Hopkins E, Newton R, Murray R.Repeated exposure to water treadmill (WT) exercise could elicit kinematic responses reflecting adaptation to WT exercise. The study's aim was to compare the responses of a group of sport horses to a standardised WT exercise test (WTSET) carried out at three time points, week 0 (n = 48), week 20 (n = 38), and week 40 (n = 29), throughout a normal training programme incorporating WT exercise. Horses were recruited from the existing client populations of two commercial water treadmill venues for the purpose of this longitudinal, observational study. Limb, back, poll, wither, and pelvic kinematics...
Johns LT, Smythe MP, Dewberry LS, Staiger EA, Allen K, Brooks SA.In international equestrian sport, visual inspections assess gait and lameness to protect the welfare of performance horses during competition. Horses competing internationally in three-day eventing must pass two mandatory inspections (pre-competition and post-cross country) before attempting the final phase: the jumping test (JT). We hypothesized that digitally quantifying objective gait parameters captured during the two mandatory inspections will identify locomotor characteristics that predict success during the jumping test. Utilizing the DeepLabCut (DLC) software package for labeling of a...
Marunova E, Hernlund E, Persson-Sjödin E.Head and pelvis vertical movement asymmetries in horses are often evaluated under different conditions yet better understanding is required of how these asymmetries are altered by factors such as surface type or circle size. This study investigated how stride duration, surface and lungeing in circles of different sizes influenced objectively measured head and pelvis movement asymmetries in riding horses in full training. Movement asymmetries were recorded with body mounted accelerometers and were based on the differences between the two vertical displacement minima or maxima of head (HDmin, HD...
Sigurðardóttir H, Ablondi M, Kristjansson T, Lindgren G, Eriksson S.The Icelandic horse and Exmoor pony are ancient, native breeds, adapted to harsh environmental conditions and they have both undergone severe historic bottlenecks. However, in modern days, the selection pressures on these breeds differ substantially. The aim of this study was to assess genetic diversity in both breeds through expected (HE) and observed heterozygosity (HO) and effective population size (Ne). Furthermore, we aimed to identify runs of homozygosity (ROH) to estimate and compare genomic inbreeding and signatures of selection in the breeds. Results: HO was estimated at 0.34 and 0.33...
Zetterberg E, Persson-Sjodin E, Lundblad J, Hernlund E, Rhodin M.A high proportion of horses in training, perceived as free from lameness by their owner, exhibit vertical movement asymmetries. These types of asymmetries are sensitive measures of lameness, but their specificity as indicators of orthopaedic pathology or locomotor function remains unclear. Equine athletes performing at a high level could be assumed to exhibit a higher degree of movement symmetry compared with the general horse population, but this has not been confirmed. This study investigated the prevalence of movement asymmetries in horses performing at a high level in three equestrian disc...
Lomnicka I, Dubey S, Waller P, Vora D, Dirikolu L.The screening of drugs in plasma and urine often requires initial extraction (such as liquid-liquid extraction and solid-phase extraction) before the samples are submitted to instrumental analyses. These extraction procedures are often laborious and time-consuming. In this manuscript, a high-throughput automated assay based on liquid chromatography-high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS) suitable for use as an initial testing procedure covering multiple classes of compounds prohibited in horse racing is described. The assay requires a 600-μL plasma aliquot, which is subjected to solid pha...
Giercuszkiewicz-Hecold B, Kulka M, Czopowicz M, Szarska E, Strzelec K, Grzeczka A, Graczyk S, Wiśniewska M, Jędrzejkowska Z, Rumińska A, Marycz K....This study aimed to evaluate the oral supplementation of astaxanthin (ATX) on inflammatory markers in 3-year-old Arabian racehorses. Despite the recognized antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of ATX observed in vitro in rodent models and in human athletes, the effects in equine subjects remain unknown. This study involved a controlled trial with 14 horses receiving either ATX (six horses) or a placebo (eight horses), monitored over four months of race training. Inflammatory cytokines: TNFα, IFNγ, IL-6, IL-10, and prostaglandin E (PGE), were measured monthly to assess the impact of A...
Peat FJ, Kawcak CE, McIlwraith CW, Berk JT, Keenan DP, Selberg KT, Ojeda A.Equine suspensory ligament branch (branch) ultrasonography is becoming increasingly commonplace presale. No ultrasonographical branch reference data exists for Thoroughbred sales horses. Objective: To define the prevalence of ultrasonographical findings in the forelimb suspensory branches of yearling and 2-year-old sales Thoroughbreds and to analyse associations with racing performance. To track changes in branch findings between 1 and 2 years of age in horses that present for sale at both ages. Methods: Prospective cohort study using an enrolled sample. Methods: Horses were enrolled from a ...
van Bijlert PA, Geijtenbeek T, Smit IH, Schulp AS, Bates KT.Musculoskeletal simulations can provide insights into the underlying mechanisms that govern animal locomotion. In this study, we describe the development of a new musculoskeletal model of the horse, and to our knowledge present the first fully muscle-driven, predictive simulations of equine locomotion. Our goal was to simulate a model that captures only the gross musculoskeletal structure of a horse, without specialized morphological features. We mostly present simulations acquired using feedforward control, without state feedback ("top-down control"). Without using kinematics or motion captur...
Kwok WH, Leung EMK, Chan RCM, Ho ENM.The Intelligence and Drug Testing Management (IDTM), a system that can enhance drug testing analytics with related horse information and intelligence in a single platform, can help identify and mitigate potential doping and other threats.
Wolframm I, Reuter P, Zaharia I, Vernooij J.This study investigated the visual search behavior of equestrian dressage judges at different expertise levels during the assessment of Grand Prix horse-rider combinations. Twenty judges (11 foundational level, 9 advanced level) participated in the study, with their eye movements recorded using Tobii Fusion Eyetracker as they evaluated video recordings of dressage tests. Fixation metrics, namely Total Duration of Fixation (TDF), Average Duration of Fixation (ADF), and Total Number of Fixations (TNF), were analyzed across four Areas of Interest (AOIs): front, back, rider, and horse's feet. Stat...
Arrigo F, Aragona F, Faggio C, Giudice E, Giannetto C, Piccione G, Rizzo M, Arfuso F.The aim of this study was to assess the changes of pro-inflammatory interleukins in 10 horses subjected to road transport practices (distance of 150 km) from the training site (Messina, Sicily) to the competition centre in Syracuse (Sicily). Blood sampling and interleukins analysis were performed during a round trip transportation (transport 1 and transport 2). In particular, blood samples were collected before the transport took place (Pre), five minutes later (Post) and one hour later (Post 1 h), for each transport, in order to assess the serum concentration of IL-1α, IL-1β, IL-2 and IL-...
Price HA, Logan AA, Snyder AJ, Higgins AH.Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA) competitions evaluate riders on equitation and skills when riding randomly drawn horses. This study considered demographic and competition-related variables of horses involved in IHSA competitions, and their correlation to performance through points accumulated. Demographics were recorded for fifty-nine horses in two-day Hunter Seat and Western IHSA shows along with use of artificial riding aids, day of competition, number of rides, and points, to evaluate performance. Data were analyzed using a mixed effect model and correlation coefficients with ...
Wong ASY, Yuen BP, Wong COL, Kong FK, So YM, Kwok WH, Brooks L, Wan TSM, Ho EN.Bisphosphonates and myo-inositol trispyrophosphate (ITPP) are two classes of difficult-to-detect polar drugs that are prohibited under the rules of racing. ITPP is a drug capable of increasing the amount of oxygen in hypoxic tissues, and studies have shown that administration of ITPP increases the maximal exercise capacity in mice. The properties of ITPP make it an ideal candidate as a doping agent to enhance performance in racehorses. In recent years, ITPP had indeed been detected in racehorses and confiscated items. As for bisphosphonates, it is especially critical to control their use as si...
Luick ML, Khouzam NA, Pérez-Nogués M.To establish racing prognosis in Thoroughbred yearlings with proximal sagittal ridge osteochondral lesions and compare them to dorsoproximal and palmar/plantar first phalanx osteochondral lesions. Methods: A total of 47 horses had proximal sagittal ridge lesions, 34 had palmar/plantar first phalanx lesions, and 115 had dorsoproximal first phalanx lesions. Methods: Retrospective case series. Methods: Medical records of Thoroughbred yearling racing prospects treated arthroscopically for fetlock osteochondral lesions were reviewed. Data were collected from a public database, including the ability...
Dyson S, Pollard D.The Ridden Horse Pain Ethogram (RHpE) was developed to facilitate the identification of musculoskeletal pain. The aim of the current study was to collate behavioural data using the RHpE from horses at competitions assumed by their owners and/or riders to be fit for competition. The objectives were to quantify the frequency of occurrence of behaviours in pain-free horses and those with lameness or abnormalities of canter and to determine any differences between disciplines and levels of competition. The RHpE was applied to 1358 horses competing in Grand Prix (GP) dressage (n = 211), 5* three-da...
Fegraeus K, Rosengren MK, Naboulsi R, Orlando L, Åbrink M, Jouni A, Velie BD, Raine A, Egner B, Mattsson CM, Lång K, Zhigulev A, Björck HM....The control of transcription is crucial for homeostasis in mammals. A previous selective sweep analysis of horse racing performance revealed a 19.6 kb candidate regulatory region 50 kb downstream of the Endothelin3 (EDN3) gene. Here, the region was narrowed to a 5.5 kb span of 14 SNVs, with elite and sub-elite haplotypes analyzed for association to racing performance, blood pressure and plasma levels of EDN3 in Coldblooded trotters and Standardbreds. Comparative analysis of human HiCap data identified the span as an enhancer cluster active in endothelial cells, interacting with genes relevant ...
Takahashi Y, Takahashi T, Mukai K, Ebisuda Y, Ohmura H.Understanding how muscle activity changes with different surface grades during canter is essential for developing training protocols in Thoroughbreds because canter is their primary gait in training and races. We measured the spatiotemporal parameters and the activation of 12 surface muscles in the leading limb side of 7 Thoroughbreds. Horses were equipped with hoof strain gauges and cantered at 10 m/s on a treadmill set to grades of -4%, 0%, 4%, and 8%, randomly, for 30 seconds each without a lead change. Integrated electromyography (iEMG) values during stance and swing phases were calculated...
Hardwick JL, Ahern BJ, Crawford KL, Allen KJ, Franklin SH.Yearling laryngeal function (YLF) is frequently assessed at the time of sale and the outcomes of these assessments can have significant economic implications. The YLF of horses that subsequently underwent a prosthetic laryngoplasty (PL) is unknown. Objective: We hypothesised horses with YLF ≥grade II.2 would be at increased risk of requiring PL, compared with YLF
Albishi AM.Horseback riding requires adapting to constant changes in balance conditions, maintaining equilibrium on the horse, and preventing falls. However, differences in balance performance among horseback riders and non-rider-healthy young women in Saudi Arabia have not been explored. This study investigates whether horseback-rider women would perform better on static and dynamic balance tests than non-rider women. Also, the study examined the effect of years of horseback riding on balance performance in the rider group. Twenty healthy young females participated in the study using a convenience sampl...
Huangsaksri O, Sanigavatee K, Poochipakorn C, Wonghanchao T, Yalong M, Thongcham K, Srirattanamongkol C, Pornkittiwattanakul S, Sittiananwong T....Horses participating in endurance events encounter enormous physical challenges. Heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) have been reported before and after endurance rides, but these have not been determined during the rides. Moreover, the modulation in HRV and haematology in horses with different ride results (completed a course or disqualified due to irregular gait) have not been elucidated. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate changes in HR, HRV, and haematological parameters during novice endurance rides and to compare these parameters between horses that successfully compl...
Argüelles D, Saitua A, Miraz R, Calle-González N, Requena F, Nocera I, Vitale V, Sgorbini M, Muñoz A.It has been reported that capacitive resistive electric transfer (CRET) increases blood circulation, hemoglobin oxygenation and temperature in muscles. The attributed benefits of these changes have been linked to improved athletic performance, enhanced muscle flexibility and fastening recovery from exercise-induced fatigue. For all of this, the present research aims to investigate whether the application of CRET 24 h before exercise affects the accelerometric pattern in horses during exercise. Six sound Standardbred trotters were subjected to a CRET session of 40 min of duration, applied on ...
Azcona F, Karlau A, Trigo P, Molina A, Demyda-Peyrás S.The Polo Argentino (PA) horse is a recognized breed, developed originally by mixing crossbred and Thoroughbred (TB) horses to play polo. Early PA selection is difficult due to unreliable performance estimations. This study investigated the usefulness of genomic markers previously linked to morphological and functional traits as a tool for the early selection of PA. To this, we genotyped 520 PA and 30 TB horses using the Equine GGPArray (Illumina, n=71,778 SNPs). Analyses included a genetic characterization of six genetic markers associated with behavioral (DRD4), muscular development (MSTN), a...
Lindner AE.The objective of the study was to examine the validity of v(4) [velocity run under the defined conditions inducing 4 mmol/L of blood lactate concentration ([LA])] and v(200) (velocity run under the defined conditions inducing a heart rate of 200 beats/min) to differentiate performance level among Standardbred racehorses. For this purpose, 19 Standardbred trotting racehorses with differing racing time records in 2 training yards were submitted to a standardized exercise test to determine their v(4) and v(200) (6 horses of one yard only). The test consisted of 4 or more consecutive intervals dep...
Morley PS, Bromberek JL, Saulez MN, Hinchcliff KW, Guthrie AJ.Exercise-induced pulmonary haemorrhage (EIPH) occurs commonly in Thoroughbred racehorses worldwide. While EIPH is believed to be an important cause of impaired performance in these horses, there is limited evidence from sufficiently powered studies to evaluate this association. Objective: To evaluate whether EIPH is associated with finishing position, distance finished behind race winners and differences in race earning among Thoroughbred horses racing in South Africa. Methods: Prospective cross-sectional study. Methods: One thousand Thoroughbred horses racing in South Africa were enrolled pri...
Lindner A, Mosen H, Kissenbeck S, Fuhrmann H, Sallmann HP.The velocity at which blood lactate concentration ([LA]) of 4 mmol/L is reached (v(4)) is widely used to determine fitness, but there are few published data on using [LA] as a guide for the exercise speed for training in horses. In this study, the effect of 3 conditioning programs with [LA] guided exercise speeds on v(4), v(200) (speed at a heart rate of 200 beats/min), blood [LA], plasma FFA ([FFA]), and alanine concentrations ([alanine]), before and after exercise, as well as heart rate during exercise, of horses was examined. Six 2-yr-old Haflinger stallions underwent an initial treadmill-b...
Bouwman FG, van Ginneken MM, Noben JP, Royackers E, de Graaf-Roelfsema E, Wijnberg ID, van der Kolk JH, Mariman EC, van Breda E.The major aim of the present study was to investigate the proteome of standardbred horses at different stages of training and intensified training. We searched for biomarkers using small skeletal muscle biopsies of live animals. 2D gel electrophoresis and mass spectrometry were successfully applied to investigate training-induced differential expression of equine muscle biopsy proteins. Despite the poor resolution of the equine genome and proteome, we were able to identify the proteins of 20 differential spots representing 16 different proteins. Evaluation of those proteins complies with adapt...
McCutcheon LJ, Geor RJ, Hinchcliff KW.The effect of warm-up exercise on energy metabolism and muscle glycogenolysis during sprint exercise (Spr) was examined in six fit Standardbred horses exercised at 115% of maximal O(2) consumption (VO(2 max)) until fatigued, 5 min after each of three protocols: 1) no warm-up (NWU); 2) 10 min at 50% of VO(2 max) [low-intensity warm-up (LWU)]; and 3) 7 min at 50% VO(2 max) followed by 45-s intervals at 80, 90, and 100% VO(2 max) [high-intensity warm-up (HWU)]. Warm-up increased (P < 0.0001) muscle temperature (T(m)) at the onset of Spr in LWU (38.3 +/- 0.2 degrees C) and HWU (40.0 +/- 0. 3 de...
Tozaki T, Hill EW, Hirota K, Kakoi H, Gawahara H, Miyake T, Sugita S, Hasegawa T, Ishida N, Nakano Y, Kurosawa M.Using 1710 Thoroughbred racehorses in Japan, a cohort study was performed to evaluate the influence of genotypes at four single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) on equine chromosome 18 (ECA18), which were associated in a previous genome-wide association study for racing performance with lifetime earnings and performance rank. In males, both g.65809482T>C and g.65868604G>T were related to performance rank (P= 0.005). In females, g.65809482T>C (P = 1.76E-6), g.65868604G>T (P=6.81E-6) and g.66493737C>T (P=4.42E-5) were strongly related to performance rank and also to lifetime ...
Sánchez Guerrero MJ, Cervantes I, Valera M, Gutiérrez JP.The most popular use of the Pura Raza Español horse in sport is for dressage competitions. Tests on young sport horses were first established in 2004 in Spain to collect data for the genetic evaluation of this breed's suitability for dressage. The aim of this study was to compare eight different models to find out the most appropriate way to include the rider in the genetic evaluation of dressage. A progressive removal of systematic effects from model was also analysed. A total of 8867 performance records collected between 2004 and 2011 from 1234 horses aged between 4 and 6 years old were use...
Hill EW, Fonseca RG, McGivney BA, Gu J, MacHugh DE, Katz LM.Sequence variation at the equine myostatin gene (MSTN) locus has previously been shown to have a singular genomic influence on optimum race distance in Thoroughbred racehorses. Myostatin, encoded by the MSTN gene, is a member of the TGF-β superfamily that regulates skeletal muscle development in a range of mammalian species including the horse. In the Thoroughbred, the C-allele at the g.66493737C/T SNP has been found at significantly higher frequency in subgroups of the population that are suited to fast, short distance, sprint races and also influences body composition phenotypes. We investi...
Schröder W, Klostermann A, Distl O.Intense selection for speed, endurance or pulling power in the domestic horse (Equus caballus) has resulted in a number of adaptive changes in the phenotype required for elite athletic performance. To date, studies in humans have revealed a large number of genes involved in elite athletic performance, but studies in horses are rare. The horse genome assembly and bioinformation tools for genome analyses have been used to compare human performance genes with their equine orthologues, both to retrieve pathways for these genes and to investigate their chromosomal distribution. In this review, 28 c...
Egan S, Brama P, McGrath D.Since Muybridge's 'horse in motion', researchers in the equine movement analysis field continue to improve objective analysis and performance monitoring while ensuring representative data capture. However, subjective evaluation remains the primary method of equine gait analysis in the applied setting, despite evidence highlighting the unreliability of this approach. Objective: To map research trends, limitations and opportunities across the diverse equine gait analysis literature. Methods: Joanna Briggs Institute and Cochrane systematic scoping review. Methods: Search terms were chosen based o...
Kearns CF, McKeever KH, Kumagai K, Abe T.This study examined whether body composition was predictive of competitive success in elite standardbreds (STB). Rump fat and muscle thickness (MTH) (vastus lateralis/intermedius [VL], extensor carpi radialis [ECR]) were measured in vivo in male n=6; female n=8 by B-mode ultrasound. Percentage body fat (%fat) was calculated from rump fat. There were no gender differences for age, body mass (males 432+/-11 kg; females 443+/-13 kg), fat-free mass (FFM) (males 400+/-12 kg; females 400+/-11 kg), ECR MTH (males 61+/-2 cm; females 60+/-2 cm) or race time (RT) (males 113+/-3 s; females 114+/-2 s). Ma...
Dyson S, Pollard D.There is considerable debate about the social license to compete with horses and controversy about training methods for dressage horses. The objectives were to: 1. apply the Ridden Horse Pain Ethogram (RHpE) to dressage horses competing at elite Grand Prix level; 2. compare RHpE and judges' scores; and 3. document deviations in gaits from Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) guidelines. Video recordings of 147 competitors from nine World Cup competitions were assessed. Spearman's rank correlation coefficient tested the correlation between RHpE and judges' scores. The median RHpE score wa...
Gramm M, Marksteiner R.Using a dataset of 274 male Thoroughbred racehorses in the United States, we study the effect of age on racing performance. Beyer speed figures, which are uniform measures of racing performance across distance and racing surface, are utilized in this study. A system of equations is estimated to determine quadratic improvement and decline in racing performance. We find that a typical horse's peak racing age is 4.45 years. The rate of improvement from age 2 to 4 1/2 is greater than the rate of decline after age 4 1/2. A typical horse will improve by 10 (horse) lengths in sprints (less than 1 mil...
Zanotto GM, Frisbie DD.Osteoarthritis is a common clinical condition in the performance horse. In the last 10 years, there has been substantial growth in understanding of the disease and in the development of novel therapies. Objective: To document changes in clinical use of joint therapies over the past 10 years. We also aimed to understand how newly developed therapies have been added to routine clinical practice. Methods: Survey of veterinary professionals. Methods: We administered an electronic survey to members of the American Association of the Equine Practitioners. Questions from a similar survey in 2009 we...
Barrey E.Over the last 30 years, the increase in interest in horses for racing and riding activities has stimulated scientific research in equine locomotion. This paper presents a review of the measurement methods and their applications used to assess equine locomotion. After describing gaits and velocity-related changes in stride variables, the current applications of gait analysis are presented. The economic consequences of lameness justifies the great effort now being put into lameness quantification and prevention. To improve breeding and reduce the costs of training, early performance evaluation t...
Valenchon M, Lévy F, Prunier A, Moussu C, Calandreau L, Lansade L.The present study investigates how the temperament of the animal affects the influence of acute stress on the acquisition and reacquisition processes of a learning task. After temperament was assessed, horses were subjected to a stressor before or after the acquisition session of an instrumental task. Eight days later, horses were subjected to a reacquisition session without any stressor. Stress before acquisition tended to enhance the number of successes at the beginning of the acquisition session. Eight days later, during the reacquisition session, contrary to non-stressed animals, horses st...
Giunta K, Donnell JR, Donnell AD, Frisbie DD.Proximal suspensory desmitis (PSD) is a frequent cause of lameness in the performance horse. Extracorporeal shockwave therapy (EST) and platelet rich plasma (PRP) have become common treatments for PSD yet clinical data on efficacy is limited. The main objective of this randomized, prospective clinical study was to compare long-term effectiveness of EST and PRP in Western performance horses. One hundred horses with lameness localized to the proximal suspensory ligament received treatment with either PRP or EST following baseline ultrasonographic evaluation. A veterinarian and agent evaluated th...
Viklund A, Braam A, Näsholm A, Strandberg E, Philipsson J.For many years, the breeding value estimation for Swedish riding horses has been based on results from Riding Horse Quality Tests (RHQTs) of 4-year-olds only. Traits tested are conformation, gaits and jumping ability. An integrated index including competition results is under development to both get as reliable proofs as possible and increases the credibility of the indexes among breeders, trainers and riders. The objectives of this study were to investigate the suitability of competition data for use in genetic evaluations of horses and to examine how well young horse performance agrees with ...
Buhl R, Meldgaard C, Barbesgaard L.Electrocardiographic reference values of clinically normal horses during exercise are a prerequisite when evaluating horses with poor performance or horses presented with cardiac abnormalities (e.g. valvular regurgitation). No published studies have reported cardiac rhythms of clinically normal showjumping horses. Objective: To demonstrate the feasibility of obtaining exercise electrocardiogram (ECG) in normal horses during showjumping and also to document the prevalence and frequency of arrhythmias in association with exercise. Methods: Thirty-four healthy showjumping horses aged 4-13 years (...
Voss B, Mohr E, Krzywanek H.The objectives of the present study were to investigate the effects of Aquatraining of horses (aqua-treadmill exercise; treadmill manufactured by Equitech - L.u.S. Equipment, Warendorf, Germany) on selected blood parameters [lactic acid concentration (mmol/l), haemoglobin content (g/l)] and on heart-rate variability (HRV) [heart rate (beats per min; b.p.m.), standard deviation of all NN-intervals (SDNN; ms), normalized power of the low and high frequency band (LFnorm, Hfnorm; au), % recurrence, % determinism and ratio(corr)]. Seven horses performed six exercise tests with different work loads ...
Miglio A, Falcinelli E, Mezzasoma AM, Cappelli K, Mecocci S, Gresele P, Antognoni MT.Training has a strong effect on the physiology of hematological parameters and blood coagulation, both in humans and in horses. Several blood changes have been reported after exercise in horses but available data differ. We aimed to investigate modifications in complete blood count and some hemostatic parameters induced by the first training period in young untrained Thoroughbred racehorses to detect a possible labile blood coagulability in racehorses. Twenty-nine untrained 2-year-old Thoroughbreds were followed during their incremental 4-month sprint exercise schedule. Blood collection was pe...
Gramm M, Marksteiner R.Using a dataset of 274 male Thoroughbred racehorses in the United States, we study the effect of age on racing performance. Beyer speed figures, which are uniform measures of racing performance across distance and racing surface, are utilized in this study. A system of equations is estimated to determine quadratic improvement and decline in racing performance. We find that a typical horse's peak racing age is 4.45 years. The rate of improvement from age 2 to 4 1/2 is greater than the rate of decline after age 4 1/2. A typical horse will improve by 10 (horse) lengths in sprints (less than 1 mil...
Brakenhoff JE, Holcombe SJ, Hauptman JG, Smith HK, Nickels FA, Caron JP.(1) To determine the effect of age, height, weight, breed, sex, and specific use on the prevalence of idiopathic left laryngeal hemiplegia (ILH) in a population of draft performance horses; (2) to determine the association between tracheal mucus and laryngeal dysfunction, and the prevalence of exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage (EIPH) in a population of draft performance horses. Methods: Cross-sectional. Methods: Draft horses competing at the 2005 Michigan Great Lakes Draft Horse Show. Methods: Endoscopic examinations were performed on horses competing at the 2005 Michigan Great Lakes Draft...
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...
Wickler SJ, Hoyt DF, Cogger EA, Hirschbein MH.Preferred speed is the behavioral tendency of animals to utilize a relatively narrow set of speeds near the middle of a much broader range that they are capable of using within a particular gait. Possible explanations for this behavior include minimizing musculoskeletal stresses and maximizing energetic economy. If preferred speed is determined by energetic economy (cost of transport, C(T)), then shifts in preferred speed should produce shifts in C(T). To test this hypothesis, preferred speeds were measured in trotting horses on the level and on an incline. The preferred trotting speed decreas...
Doherty O, Conway T, Conway R, Murray G, Casey V.Noseband tightness is difficult to assess in horses participating in equestrian sports such as dressage, show jumping and three-day-eventing. There is growing concern that nosebands are commonly tightened to such an extent as to restrict normal equine behaviour and possibly cause injury. In the absence of a clear agreed definition of noseband tightness, a simple model of the equine nose-noseband interface environment was developed in order to guide further studies in this area. The normal force component of the noseband tensile force was identified as the key contributor to sub-noseband tissue...
Marc M, Parvizi N, Ellendorff F, Kallweit E, Elsaesser F.Reliable physiological markers for performance evaluation in sport horses are missing. To determine the diagnostic value of plasma ACTH and cortisol measurements in the warmblood horse, 10 initially 3-yr-old geldings of the Hannovarian breed were either exposed to a training schedule or served as controls. During experimental Phase 1, horses were group-housed, and half of the horses were trained for 20 wk on a high-speed treadmill. During Phase 2, groups were switched and one group was trained for 10 wk as during Phase 1, whereas the control group was confined to boxes. During Phase 3 horses w...
St George L, Clayton HM, Sinclair J, Richards J, Roy SH, Hobbs SJ.Selection and training practices for jumping horses have not yet been validated using objective performance analyses. This study aimed to quantify the differences and relationships between movement and muscle activation strategies in horses with varying jump technique to identify objective jumping performance indicators. Surface electromyography (sEMG) and three-dimensional kinematic data were collected from horses executing a submaximal jump. Kinematic variables were calculated based on equestrian-derived performance indicators relating to impulsion, engagement and joint articulation. Horses ...
de Cocq P, Clayton HM, Terada K, Muller M, van Leeuwen JL.Pressure measurement devices in equine sports have primarily focused on tack (saddle pads and saddle fitting methods). However, saddle pressure devices may also be useful in evaluating the interaction and distribution of normal forces between the horse and rider, including rider position and riding technique. This study examined the validity, reliability, repeatability and possibilities of using a saddle pressure device to evaluate rider position. All measurements were performed using a standing horse. Validity was tested by calculating the correlation coefficient between measured normal force...
