Treadmill exercise for horses involves the use of a controlled mechanical platform to simulate various gaits and intensities of physical activity. This form of exercise allows for consistent and measurable training conditions, which can be used for rehabilitation, fitness assessment, and performance enhancement. Treadmill exercise facilitates the study of equine locomotion, respiratory function, and cardiovascular response under standardized conditions. It is also utilized in research to evaluate the effects of different training regimens and to investigate metabolic and physiological responses to exercise. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the methodology, applications, and implications of treadmill exercise in equine practice.
Restan AZ, Camacho AA, Cerqueira JA, Zacché E, Kirnew MD, Loureiro BA, Silva SB, Moranza HG, Ferraz GC.The dogs' responses to training exercise are seldom monitored using physiological variables, and cardiac autonomic regulation (CAR) is a relevant determinant of endurance-training adaptation. There are studies in the literature establishing that regular exercise could interfere with CAR in dogs, measured by heart rate and vagal-derived indexes of heart-rate-variability (HRV). However, few studies were found using a prescribed training program based on the lactate threshold (LT) to determine HRV by a 24-h Holter analysis. The purpose of this study was to test whether an endurance-training progr...
Masko M, Domino M, Lewczuk D, Jasinski T, Gajewski Z.A treadmill is an important tool in the equine analysis of gait, lameness, and hoof balance, as well as for the evaluation of horse rehabilitation or poor performance including dynamic endoscopy. Before all of these uses, horses have to be habituated to a treadmill locomotion. We used principal component analysis to evaluate the relationship between aspects of the horse's temperament and emotional response, and progress in the behavioral habituation to a treadmill. Fourteen horses were tested, by the same familiar handler, using the novel object test, the handling test, and both positive and n...
Sapone M, Martin P, Ben Mansour K, Château H, Marin F.The development of on-board sensors, such as inertial measurement units (IMU), has made it possible to develop new methods for analyzing horse locomotion to detect lameness. The detection of spatiotemporal events is one of the keystones in the analysis of horse locomotion. This study assesses the performance of four methods for detecting Foot on and Foot off events. They were developed from an IMU positioned on the canon bone of eight horses during trotting recording on a treadmill and compared to a standard gold method based on motion capture. These methods are based on accelerometer and gyro...
Mukai K, Ohmura H, Matsui A, Aida H, Takahashi T, Jones JH.We examined the effects of high-intensity training in normobaric hypoxia on aerobic capacity and exercise performance in horses and the individual response to normoxic and hypoxic training. Eight untrained horses were studied in a randomized, crossover design after training in hypoxia (HYP; 15.0% inspired O ) or normoxia (NOR; 20.9% inspired O ) 3 days/week for 4 weeks separated by a 4-month washout period. Before and after each training period, incremental treadmill exercise tests were performed in normoxia. Each training session consisted of 1 min cantering at 7 m/s and 2 min galloping ...
Byström A, Clayton HM, Hernlund E, Roepstorff L, Rhodin M, Bragança FS, Engell MT, van Weeren R, Weishaupt MA, Egenvall A.Left-right movement symmetry is a highly desirable characteristic in sport horses. Objective: This study compared movement symmetry in well-trained dressage horses in unridden and unrestrained position and ridden in a dressage frame, and investigated possible associations between gaits. Methods: Experimental study. Methods: Seven sound, high-level dressage horses were measured at walk and sitting trot on a treadmill at several speeds under two conditions: with and without rider. Left-right differences in stance duration, stance protraction and retraction based on longitudinal hoof positions, i...
Kau S, Potz IK, Pospisil K, Sellke L, Schramel JP, Peham C.Bit configuration and acting rein forces play a crucial role in oral health and comfort of ridden horses. Although it is a big animal welfare issue, dynamic response of horses to different bits has yet not been thoroughly investigated. This convenience sample experimental study describes a model to overcome the almost uncontrollable influence of riders on rein tension and evaluates self-controlled maximum side rein tension of ten sound horses randomly bitted with a double-jointed (DJS) and a version of a Mullen mouth snaffle-bit under unridden conditions. Horses were exercised at walk and trot...
Saitua A, Becero M, Argüelles D, Castejón-Riber C, Sánchez de Medina A, Satué K, Muñoz A.Horse trainers often claim that exercise on a water treadmill (WT) leads to a greater muscle power and development compared to terrestrial locomotion, because of the greater viscosity of water compared to air. This research assesses locomotor changes measured with accelerometers fixed in the pectoral region and in the sacrum midline in six horses subjected to exercise sessions of 40 min duration on a WT without water (DT), and with water at the depth of fetlock (FET) and carpus (CAR) with velocities of 6 km/h and at the depth of stifle (STF) at 5 km/h. Another five horses performed the same ex...
Lindner A, Esser M, López R, Boffi F.In endurance racing the heart rate (HR) of horses in the veterinary gates has to reach a maximum set to continue racing. There is no literature on the relationship between resting HR (HRresting) and HR after exercise (HRrecovery). This relationship was examined in seven horses and the results were related to their v (speed at which the blood lactate concentration is 4 mmol/L). Horses were submitted to an exercise test to determine v. Thereafter, horses were exercised on a treadmill in randomized order for 10 and 60 min at different speeds. HR was measured before exercise and several times unti...
Becero M, Saitua A, Argüelles D, Sánchez de Medina AL, Castejón-Riber C, Riber C, Muñoz A.Capacitive resistive electric transfer (CRET), a radiofrequency at 448 kHz, resulted in increased superficial and deep temperature and hemoglobin saturation, faster elimination of metabolic and inflammatory products and enhanced sport performance in humans. This research aims to investigate whether the application of CRET affects the locomotor pattern in horses and to assess whether an accumulative effect appears when two CRET sessions are applied two consecutive days. Methods: Nine horses were subjected to two CRET sessions applied in both right and left sides of neck, shoulder, back and cr...
Takahashi Y, Mukai K, Ohmura H, Takahashi T.Muscle activities of the major hindlimb muscles have been reported to decrease with fatigue in horses. However, those in other muscles have been scarcely reported. We aimed to quantify fatigue-induced electromyographic changes in head and neck muscles and muscles around the shoulder joints in horses. Surface electromyographic recording of the splenius, brachiocephalicus, infraspinatus, and deltoid muscles was performed on a total of nine healthy Thoroughbred horses. Horses galloped on a treadmill inclined to 3% at a constant speed (12.7-14.6 m/second) to make them fatigued after approximately...
Pugliese BR, Carballo CT, Connolly KM, Mazan MR, Kirker-Head CA.The objective was to validate a scientific method for characterizing equine metacarpophalangeal joint (MCPJ) motion in the nonfatigued and fatigued states using a single horse at trot, slow canter, and fast canter. One healthy Thoroughbred gelding exercised on a treadmill to exhaustion (fatigued state) (heart rate >190 BPM and blood lactate >10 mmol/L) while bilateral MCPJ angular data were acquired using electrogoniometry. Blood lactate and heart rate reflected transition from nonfatigued to fatigued states with increasing exercise duration and treadmill speed. Electrogoniometry consis...
Vermedal H, Strand E.To report dynamic laryngeal collapse (DLC) associated with poll flexion as a potential complication of the laryngeal tie-forward procedure (LTFP) in harness racehorses. Methods: Short case series. Methods: Three harness racehorses. Methods: Preoperative and postoperative medical records of all harness racehorses that underwent the LTFP were reviewed, as were high-speed treadmill videoendoscopy recordings of 35 horses that returned for upper airway evaluation postoperatively. Results: One standardbred and two Norwegian coldblooded trotters in which dorsal displacement of the soft palate had bee...
Assunção P, Barbosa T, Yonezawa L, Barbosa L, Watanabe M, Kohayagawa A, Schmidt E.High-intensity exercise can be associated with the occurrence of muscle injury, as well as the induction of an acute-phase response (APR). The present study aims to investigate the synthesis and profile of serum proteins in horses before and after participating in 2 different exercise protocols and to relate this profile to the presence or absence of muscular injury caused by exercise. Ten purebred Arabian (n = 5) and Criollo (n = 5) horses were subjected to 2 different tests on a treadmill, one consisting of short-duration and rapid-acceleration training (TRA) that was mostly anerobic and the...
Hobbs SJ, Clayton HM.One of the goals of the neuromotor control system is to minimize the cost of locomotion by reducing mechanical energy losses. Collisional mechanics, which studies the redirection of the downwards motion of the center of mass (COM) by ground reaction forces (GRF) generated by the limbs, represents an important source of energy loss. The primary objective of this study was to compare collisional mechanics and the associated mechanical energy losses in horses performing diagonally-synchronized gaits over a range of speeds. It is to be expected that collisional energy losses will be high when the ...
Muñoz A, Saitua A, Becero M, Riber C, Satué K, de Medina AS, Argüelles D, Castejón-Riber C.In recent years, exercise on a water treadmill has come to have great relevance in rehabilitation and training centres for sport horses. Its use exploits certain physical properties of water, related to the fundamental principles of hydrodynamics, such as buoyancy, viscosity, hydrostatic pressure, and water temperature. These properties together with deliberate specification of the depth of the water and the velocity of the treadmill provide a combination of parameters that can be varied according to the purpose of the rehabilitation or training programme, the disease to rehabilitate, or the h...
Greco-Otto P, Baggaley M, Edwards WB, Léguillette R.Equine water treadmills (WTs) are growing in popularity because they are believed to allow for high resistance, low impact exercise. However, little is known about the effect of water height on limb loading. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of water height and speed on segmental acceleration and impact attenuation during WT exercise in horses. Three uniaxial accelerometers (sampling rate: 2500 Hz) were secured on the left forelimb (hoof, mid-cannon, mid-radius). Horses walked at two speeds (S1: 0.83 m/s, S2: 1.39 m/s) and three water heights (mid-cannon, carpus, stifle), ...
Greco-Otto P, Bond S, Sides R, Bayly W, Leguillette R.Equine water treadmills (WT) were initially designed for rehabilitation of musculoskeletal injuries, but are also commonly used for conditioning sport horses, however the effects are not well documented. The purpose of this study was to test the effect of an 18-day WT conditioning programme on peak oxygen consumption (V̇O2peak). Nine unfit Thoroughbreds were used in a randomised controlled trial. Six horses worked daily for 18 days in stifle-height water (WT group), while 3 control horses worked without water (dry treadmill group (DT)). Preconditioning and postconditioning maximal exercise ra...
Bayly W, Lopez C, Sides R, Bergsma G, Bergsma J, Gold J, Sellon D.Public pressure exists in the United States to eliminate race-day furosemide administration despite its efficacy in decreasing the severity of equine exercise pulmonary hemorrhage (EIPH). No effective alternative prophylaxis strategies have been identified. Objective: To investigate alternative protocols to race-day furosemide that might mitigate EIPH. Methods: Seven fit Thoroughbreds with recent EIPH. Methods: Double-blinded placebo-controlled Latin square crossover using a treadmill followed by a blinded placebo-controlled crossover study at a racetrack. First, horses exercised supramaximall...
Villarino NF, Lopez CM, Sams RA, Bayly WM.The primary objective of this study was to assess the disposition of furosemide in Thoroughbred horses treated intravenously with 1 mg/kg of furosemide 4 and 24 h before supramaximal treadmill exercise without and with controlled access to water, respectively. Another objective was to determine whether furosemide was detectable in the plasma of horses after exposure to supramaximal treadmill exercise. Thoroughbred horses (n = 4-6) were administered single intravenous doses of 1 mg/kg of furosemide at 4 and 24 h before supramaximal exercise on a high-speed treadmill, with controlled ...
Brown K, Stefanovski D, Davidson E.Decline in high speed treadmill (HSTM) exercise testing may be attributed to the rise of over-ground endoscopy and telemetric electrocardiography, in addition to concerns of adverse events during treadmill exercise resulting in injury or inadequate testing. Objective: To describe adverse events occurring during HSTM exercise tests at a single institution and determine their effect on likelihood of completing diagnostic HSTM exercise testing. Methods: Retrospective cohort study. Methods: Pearson's chi-square test was used to determine if a significant difference in frequencies of adverse events...
Soroko M, Śpitalniak-Bajerska K, Zaborski D, Poźniak B, Dudek K, Janczarek I.The aim of the study was to assess the effects of training on haematological and biochemical blood parameters as well as on the changes in body surface temperature in horses. In order to identify the predictive value of surface temperature measurements as a marker of animal's performance, their correlations with blood parameters were investigated. The study was carried out on nine horses divided into two groups: routinely ridden and never ridden. Infrared thermography was used to assess surface temperature changes before (BT) and just after training (JAT) on a treadmill. Seven regions of int...
Feeney E, Peal BT, Inglis JE, Su J, Nixon AJ, Bonassar LJ, Reesink HL.The objective of this study was to examine temporal variations in synovial fluid composition and lubrication following articular fracture. Post-traumatic osteoarthritis (PTOA) was induced by creating an osteochondral fracture in the middle carpal joint of four horses while the contralateral limb served as a sham-operated control. Horses were exercised on a high-speed treadmill, and synovial fluid was collected pre-operatively and at serial timepoints until 75 days post-operatively. Lubricin and hyaluronic acid (HA) concentrations were measured using sandwich ELISAs, and the molecular weight di...
Broeckx SY, Pille F, Buntinx S, Van Brantegem L, Duchateau L, Oosterlinck M, Chiers K, Bertone AL, Spaas JH, Martens AM.OBJECTIVE To evaluate lameness and morphological changes associated with an osteochondral fragment-groove procedure as a means of experimental induction of metacarpophalangeal (MCP) joint osteoarthritis within an 11-week period in horses. ANIMALS 6 nonlame adult warmbloods. PROCEDURES The right MCP joint of each horse underwent an osteochondral fragment-groove procedure (day 0). After 1 week of stall rest (ie, starting day 7), each horse was trained daily on a treadmill. Weekly, horses underwent visual and inertial sensor-based assessments of lameness. Both MCP joints were assessed radiographi...
Bond SL, Greco-Otto P, Sides R, Kwong GPS, Léguillette R, Bayly WM.A prospective, randomized, controlled study was designed to determine relative aerobic and anaerobic (lactic and alactic) contributions at supramaximal exercise intensities using two different methods. Thoroughbred racehorses ( = 5) performed a maximal rate of oxygen consumption (V̇o) test and three supramaximal treadmill runs (105, 115, and 125% V̇o). Blood lactate concentration (BL) was measured at rest, every 15 s during runs, and 2, 5, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, and 60 min postexercise. In , oxygen demand was calculated for each supramaximal intensity based on the V̇o test, and relative aerobi...
Nolazco Sassot L, Villarino NF, Dasgupta N, Morrison JJ, Bayly WM, Gang D, Sanz MG.A comprehensive study of the effect of supramaximal exercise in lipid homeostasis of Thoroughbreds provides the basis for future research on the role of lipids on energy metabolism in racehorses. Objective: To compare the plasma lipidome of Thoroughbreds before and after supramaximal exercise using an untargeted lipidomics approach. Methods: Pilot experimental study. Methods: Four Thoroughbred horses were used. The maximal oxygen consumption (VO ) was calculated for each horse. Horses then underwent treadmill exercise at the speed for which the oxygen requirements had been calculated to be 11...
Brunsting J, Dumoulin M, Oosterlinck M, Haspeslagh M, Lefère L, Pille F.Conventional shoeing restricts heel movement, which may have a negative effect on the orthopaedic health of the horse. A randomised crossover experimental study using noninvasive techniques was performed to compare the mediolateral heel movement in barefoot horses, horses shod with a conventional toe clipped shoe and with a new type of shoe with a split toe. In eight horses, 16 forelimbs were tested barefoot, shod with a conventional shoe and with the split-toe (ST) shoe, in random order. A displacement sensor was secured on the heels and measurements were collected continuously at a frequency...
Frick L, Schwarzwald CC, Mitchell KJ.Little is known about normal heart rate variability (HRV) in horses during exercise. It can be difficult to separate premature beats from normal beat-to-beat variation at higher heart rates. Objective: The aim was to quantify HRV in healthy horses during a high-speed treadmill-standardized exercise test (HSET) and to compare with the HRV in horses observed to have arrhythmias during exercise. Methods: Thirteen healthy horses (Group H), 30 horses with arrhythmias (Group A), and 11 horses with poor performance but no observed arrhythmias (Group O). Methods: Prospective, observational study. All ...
Pellegrino FJ, Risso A, Relling AE, Corrada Y.The rise in popularity of dog sports competitions has led to the evaluation of improvements in dog physical performance. The potential benefit of dietary supplementation with fish oil (FO) on the physical performance of human beings and horses has been reported. However, such effect has not been studied in dogs. We therefore evaluated the effect of FO dietary supplementation on heart rate (HR), rectal temperature (RT) and thigh circumference (TC) in dogs during aerobic treadmill training, and further determined HR response and blood lactate (BL) concentration during an incremental exercise tes...
Nardelli M, Lanata A, Valenza G, Sgorbini M, Baragli P, Scilingo EP.This paper reports on a novel real time index designed to assess the quality of electrocardiographic (ECG) traces recorded in a group of five horses during a submaximal treadmill test procedure. During the experimental protocol two ECG monitoring systems were simultaneously applied to the animals. The first system was equipped with textile electrodes while the second one with standard red-dot electrodes. The procedure comprised four phases with an increased treadmill velocity, specifically, Walk 1, Trot 1, Trot 2 and Gallop. Three signal quality levels have been fixed according to the amount o...
Byström A, Egenvall A, Roepstorff L, Rhodin M, Bragança FS, Hernlund E, van Weeren R, Weishaupt MA, Clayton HM.The walk and trot are inherently symmetrical gaits, making them potentially suitable for the detection of left-right asymmetries. The aims of this study were to describe asymmetrical vertical excursions of the withers at walk in non-lame high-level dressage horses and to seek associations between these asymmetric movements and other kinematic variables and vertical ground reaction forces (vGRFs). Seven dressage horses, judged clinically as being sound, walked unridden and unrestrained on a treadmill with an integrated force measuring system (480 Hz), from which spatiotemporal and vGRF variable...
Zsoldos RR, Kotschwar AB, Kotschwar A, Groesel M, Licka T, Peham C.Skeletal muscle activity can be concentric or eccentric, anisometric or isometric and correlation of the equine splenius muscle activity with the movement of its effector joints at walk and trot has not yet been fully characterised. Objective: Investigating activity of the splenius muscle together with kinematics of head and cranial neck at walk and trot. Methods: Kinematics and surface electromyography were measured in 6 horses (8-20-years-old, 450-700 kg) without signs of neck pain. Markers were placed on left and right crista facialis, and on left and right cervical vertebrae 1 and 3. Head ...
Crook TC, Wilson A, Hodson-Tole E.Locomotion requires successful negotiation of different terrains, but we currently know little of how the musculoskeletal system adapts to cope with positive and negative slopes. Objective: To compare the effects of treadmill speed and gradient on equine hindlimb muscle mean electromyographic (EMG) intensity. Methods: Surface EMG recorded the activity of gluteus medius (GM), biceps femoris (BF), vastus lateralis (VL), gastrocnemius lateralis (GL) and extensor digitorum longus (EDL) in 6 horses at walk (1.4-1.6 m/s) and trot (2.6-3 m/s) on 3 different treadmill gradients (0, 10% and -10%). Sign...
Faber M, Johnston C, Schamhardt HC, van Weeren PR, Roepstorff L, Barneveld A.Most research on equine kinematics has previously been performed in the walking and/or trotting animal. This is also true for the few studies on the kinematics of the equine back. These studies have, for the major part, focused on the flexion-extension movement in the sagittal plane. However, vertebrae can rotate in 3 dimensions. This study was designed to determine all 3 rotations in various segments of the vertebral column of a cantering horse. Five Dutch Warmblood horses were measured during treadmill canter (7.3 m/s). Steinmann pins were inserted into the dorsal spinous processes of 8 thor...
Thomas DP, Fregin GF.The purpose of this study was to measure cardiovascular, respiratory, and metabolic responses to graded treadmill exercise in the horse. A five-stage treadmill test up to 90% of predicted maximal heart rate was administered to five sedentary horses. The highest measured level of exercise produced a sixfold increase in cardiac output and a 41% elevation of stroke volume over standing values. Left ventricular, arterial, and right atrial pressures as well as the maximal time derivative of left ventricular pressure were all elevated during exercise. Under the same two conditions hematocrit (Hct) i...
Frisbie DD, Kawcak CE, Baxter GM, Trotter GW, Powers BE, Lassen ED, McIlwraith CW.To determine effects of intra-articularly administered 6alpha-methylprednisolone acetate (MPA) in exercised horses with carpal osteochondral fragmentation. Methods: 18 horses: 3 groups of 6 each. Methods: An osteochondral (chip) fragment was created in 1 randomly chosen middle carpal joint of each horse. Polyionic fluid (PF) was injected into both middle carpal joints of horses in the control group. In horses of the MPA-control group, MPA was injected into the middle carpal joint without an osteochondral fragment; a similar volume of PF was injected into the contralateral middle carpal joint. ...
Nankervis KJ, Finney P, Launder L.Water treadmill exercise can be incorporated into the rehabilitation programmes of horses recovering from back pathology, yet little is known about the effect of this type of exercise on thoracolumbar movement ranges. Objective: To measure the flexion-extension range of motion (FE ROM) of the thoracolumbar spine and pelvic vertical displacement during water treadmill walking at 3 water depths and compare these with the control condition. Methods: Within-subject trial using a crossover design in healthy horses. Methods: A total of 14 horses walked at 0.8 m/s on a water treadmill for 3 min at ea...
Gomez Alvarez CB, Bobbert MF, Lamers L, Johnston C, Back W, van Weeren PR.There are no detailed studies describing a relationship between hindlimb lameness and altered motion of the back. Objective: To quantify the effect of induced subtle hindlimb lameness on thoracolumbar kinematics in the horse. Methods: Kinematics of 6 riding horses were measured during walk and trot on a treadmill before and during application of pressure on the sole of the left hindlimb using a well-established sole pressure model. Reflective markers were located at anatomical landmarks on the limbs, back, head and neck for kinematic recordings. Ground reaction forces (GRF) in individual limbs...
D'Ascola A, Bruschetta G, Zanghì G, Campo S, Medica P, Campana S, Ferlazzo G, Gibbs BF, Ferlazzo AM.Serotonin (5-HT) is a neurohormone transported from plasma into platelets and leukocytes by a specific transporter (SERT). While it is known that the brain 5-HT system is modulated by physical exercise, the peripheral serotoninergic response to exercise is not yet fully elucidated. In particular, this study aimed to evaluate changes in plasma 5-HT levels and equine leukocyte SERT expression in response to treadmill exercise in untrained horses. Analyses were carried out pre- and post-treadmill exercise. 5-HT plasma levels were analysed by HPLC. Leukocytes and platelets were isolated to perform...
Willemen MA, Savelberg HH, Barneveld A.This study quantifies both the intended effect of orthopaedic shoeing to decrease the load on the navicular bone and the eventual undesired effects on gait performance. The compressive force exerted by the deep digital flexor tendon on the navicular bone and on the quality of the trot and redistribution of forces over the flexor tendons and the suspensory ligament were studied as a function of orthopaedic shoeing in 12 sound Dutch Warmblood horses. A modified CODA-3 gait analysis system and a force plate were used to quantify objectively the load on the lower limb. The quality of the trot was ...
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 ...
McCutcheon LJ, Byrd SK, Hodgson DR.Thoroughbred horses were exercised to fatigue at 40, 85, and 100% of their maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max) on a treadmill and completed a 1,600-m gallop on a track to identify the effect of exercise of various durations and intensities on the ultrastructure of mitochondria and sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) from the middle gluteal muscle. The percentage of the total area occupied by mitochondria and SR increased in electron micrographs of muscle samples collected at the termination of exercise and at 30 and 60 min of recovery compared with those collected before exercise. Mitochondrial area i...
Tyler CM, Golland LC, Evans DL, Hodgson DR, Rose RJ.Thirteen standard-bred horses were trained intensively for 34 weeks and detrained for 6 weeks to study skeletal muscle adaptations to prolonged training, overtraining and detraining. Training included endurance (phase 1, 7 weeks), high-intensity (phase 2, 9 weeks) and overload training (OLT) (phase 3, 18 weeks). During phase 3, horses were divided into two groups, OLT and control (C), with OLT horses performing greater intensities and durations of exercise than C horses. Overtraining was evident in OLT horses after week 31 and was defined as a significant reduction in treadmill run time in res...
Greco-Otto P, Bond S, Sides R, Kwong GPS, Bayly W, Léguillette R.Despite the use of water treadmills (WT) in conditioning horses, the intensity of WT exercise has not been well documented. The workload on a WT is a function of water height and treadmill speed. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the effects of these factors on workload during WT exercise. Fifteen client-owned Quarter Horses were used in a randomized, controlled study. Three belt speeds and three water heights (mid cannon, carpus and stifle), along with the control condition (dry treadmill, all three speeds), were tested. Measured outcomes were oxygen consumption (V̇O2), v...
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...
Weishaupt MA, Wiestner T, von Peinen K, Waldern N, Roepstorff L, van Weeren R, Meyer H, Johnston C.Little is known in quantitative terms about the influence of different head-neck positions (HNPs) on the loading pattern of the locomotor apparatus. Therefore it is difficult to predict whether a specific riding technique is beneficial for the horse or if it may increase the risk for injury. Objective: To improve the understanding of forelimb-hindlimb balance and its underlying temporal changes in relation to different head and neck positions. Methods: Vertical ground reaction force and time parameters of each limb were measured in 7 high level dressage horses while being ridden at walk and tr...
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...
Geor RJ, McCutcheon LJ, Ecker GL, Lindinger MI.The objective of this study is to determine the effects of heat, and heat and high relative humidity (RH) on the thermal and cardiorespiratory responses to exercise and recovery. Five Thoroughbred horses (age 3 to 6) completed exercise tests under each of 3 environmental conditions: cool, dry (CD, room temperature (T) = 20 degrees C, RH = 45-55%), hot, dry (HD, T = 32-34 degrees C, RH = 45-55%) and hot, humid (HH, T = 32-34 degrees C, RH = 80-85%). Horses were exercised at a workload equal to 50% of VO2max on a treadmill set at a 10% slope until attainment of a pulmonary artery blood (PA) temp...
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...
Bitschnau C, Wiestner T, Trachsel DS, Auer JA, Weishaupt MA.Standardised exercise tests are used for fitness evaluation of sports horses. Standards are described for Thoroughbreds and Standardbreds; however, limited information is available for Warmbloods. Objective: To establish normative standards of performance parameters and heart rate recovery (HRR) in Warmblood riding horses of different levels of fitness using a submaximal incremental exercise test (SIET) performed on a treadmill. Methods: A SIET was carried out with 29 healthy and treadmill-accustomed Warmbloods: eleven 3-day event horses (TDE) and 18 horses from the National Equestrian Centre ...
Yarnell K, Fleming J, Stratton TD, Brassington R.Infrared thermography (IRT) was used to assess surface temperature change as an indirect measure of muscle activity and exercise associated changes in blood flow in the working hind limb muscles of horses (n=7) undergoing water treadmill exercise. Three treatments were investigated including the treadmill ran dry (TD), water at the height of the proximal interphalangeal joint (PIP) and water at the height of the carpus (CP). Maximum skin surface temperature was recorded from the region of the semitendinosus muscle during exercise at each water height. There was a significant difference in surf...
Back W, Schamhardt HC, Savelberg HH, van den Bogert AJ, Bruin G, Hartman W, Barneveld A.Kinematic data of the equine hind limb are presented graphically and related to functional aspects of the hind limb in locomotion. The trot of 24 two-year-old Dutch Warmblood horses was recorded at 4 m/s on a high-speed treadmill using kinematic analysis equipment. Joint angle-time, angle-angle, stick and marker diagrams were used to present graphically the data following standardised procedures. As the kinematic data were expressed with reference to the joint angles of the horse standing squarely and were time-standardised to the duration of the stride cycle, mean joint curves for the total g...
McCutcheon LJ, Geor RJ, Hare MJ, Ecker GL, Lindinger MI.The objective of this study was to determine the composition and extent of sweat losses during submaximal exercise under hot and humid conditions and to compare these findings with the same exercise protocol conducted under cool, dry and hot, dry conditions. Five Thoroughbred horses (age 3 to 6) completed exercise tests under each of 3 environmental conditions in random order: cool, dry (CD), room temperature (T) = 20 degrees C, relative humidity (RH) = 45-55%; hot, dry (HD), T = 32-34 degrees C, RH = 45-55%; and hot, humid (HH), T = 32-34 degrees C, RH = 80-85%. Horses exercised at 50% of the...
Murray RC, Zhu CF, Goodship AE, Lakhani KH, Agrawal CM, Athanasiou KA.Dorsal carpal osteochondral injury is a major cause of reduced performance in horses undergoing high-intensity training. It was hypothesised that the mechanical behaviour and histology of cartilage are influenced by the intensity of exercise and by location within a joint. Relationships between histology and mechanical behaviour were identified in 2-year-old horses undergoing 19 weeks of high-intensity treadmill training or low-intensity exercise and then compared between groups. Dorsal and palmar test sites were identified on radial, intermediate, and third carpal articular surfaces after eut...
Furr M, Taylor L, Kronfeld D.Gastroendoscopic surveys have shown that horses in race training have a greater prevalence of gastric ulceration than sedentary horses. To determine if exercise affects gastric endocrine function the following experiment was performed. Four horses were fed total mixed ration of ground corn and chopped hay at 2% of their body weight, divided into 2 equal portions, daily. Horses were fasted overnight, and serum gastrin concentration was determined just before and 2 hours after feeding. The horses were then sprint trained on a high speed treadmill for 6 weeks. The response of serum gastrin to fee...
Bisgard GE, Forster HV, Byrnes B, Stanek K, Klein J, Manohar M.Ventilation, metabolism, arterial blood gases, and blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) acid-base status were measured in exercise studies on seven ponies during mild, moderate, and near-maximal treadmill exercise. CSF and arterial blood were sampled via indwelling catheters. Generally measurements were made during the 3rd, 6th, and 9th minute of steady-state exercise, with CSF sampled only during the 9th minute. Alveolar ventilation (VA) and metabolic rate (VO2) increased proportionately during exercise below the anaerobic threshold, but above this threshold, VA increased at a faster rate than...
McCarthy RN, Jeffcott LB.The effects of exercise and relative inactivity on cortical bone were compared in young horses. Two groups were used; one was given a 14-week programme of exercise (n = 6) and the other kept as unexercised controls (n = 6). The first nine weeks of exercise involved trotting and cantering (2 to 4 km d-1 at speeds up to 12 m s-1) on a treadmill set at an incline of 3 degrees. Over the next five weeks the horses were trained at near maximal speeds (that is, up to 14.5 m s-1) with no incline of the treadmill. At the end of the programme marked differences in cortical porosity and distribution of s...
Derksen FJ, Stick JA, Scott EA, Robinson NE, Slocombe RF.The effect of left laryngeal hemiplegia on airway flow mechanics in 5 exercising horses was examined, and the efficacy of surgical repair by prosthetic laryngoplasty was evaluated. Measurements of the upper airway flow mechanics were made with horses on a treadmill (incline 6.38 degrees) while standing (period A); walking at 1.3 m/s (period B); trotting at 2.6 m/s (period C); trotting at 4.3 m/s (period D); and standing after exercise (period E). Experiments were done on healthy horses before any surgical manipulation (control), at 10 days after left recurrent laryngeal neurectomy, and at leas...
Feeney E, Peal BT, Inglis JE, Su J, Nixon AJ, Bonassar LJ, Reesink HL.The objective of this study was to examine temporal variations in synovial fluid composition and lubrication following articular fracture. Post-traumatic osteoarthritis (PTOA) was induced by creating an osteochondral fracture in the middle carpal joint of four horses while the contralateral limb served as a sham-operated control. Horses were exercised on a high-speed treadmill, and synovial fluid was collected pre-operatively and at serial timepoints until 75 days post-operatively. Lubricin and hyaluronic acid (HA) concentrations were measured using sandwich ELISAs, and the molecular weight di...
Byström A, Rhodin M, von Peinen K, Weishaupt MA, Roepstorff L.The kinematics of the saddle and rider have not been thoroughly described at the walk. Objective: To describe saddle and rider movements during collected walk in a group of high-level dressage horses and riders. Methods: Seven high-level dressage horses and riders were subjected to kinematic measurements while performing collected walk on a treadmill. Movements of the saddle and rider's pelvis, upper body and head were analysed in a rigid body model. Projection angles were determined for the rider's arms and legs, and the neck and trunk of the horse. Distances between selected markers were use...
Buchner HH, Obermüller S, Scheidl M.The body centre of mass (BCM) is a key factor in the analysis of equine locomotion, as its position and movement determines the distribution and magnitude of loads on the limbs. In this study, the three-dimensional (3D) movement of the BCM in walking and trotting horses was assessed using a kinematic, segmental method. Thirty markers representing 20 body segments were recorded in 12 sound horses while standing, walking and trotting on a treadmill using a high-speed video system. Based on segmental inertial data, 3D positions of the segmental centres of mass as well as the total BCM were calcul...
