Electromyographic activity of the long digital extensor muscle in the exercising Thoroughbred horse.
Abstract: Surface electrodes were used to record electromyographic (EMG) activity of the long digital extensor muscle on the right hindlimb of 8 Thoroughbred horses for 8 s at the walk and 8 s at the trot before (unfatigued) and after (fatigued) an exercise test. The exercise test was performed on a motorised treadmill set on a 10% grade. Each test started at a speed of 6 m/s which was increased by 1 m/s each minute until the horse fatigued as indicated by its inability to keep pace with the treadmill with minimal encouragement. Observations were made on the horses prior to conditioning (untrained state) and after 8 weeks of regular exercise (trained state). The mean root-mean-square (rms) values of EMG bursts collected in each experimental trial were determined for each horse and group means were derived from the mean of independent subjects. Statistical comparisons for differences in rmsEMG were related to gait, fatigue and training. Mean rmsEMG at the trot was consistently higher than at the walk (P<0.05). At the walk, mean fatigued rmsEMG tended to be higher than the mean unfatigued rmsEMG in the untrained state and was significantly higher in the trained state (P<0.05). At the trot, mean fatigued rmsEMG was higher (P<0.05) than mean unfatigued rmsEMG in both the untrained and trained states. Training did not have an effect on mean rmsEMG of unfatigued muscles at the walk or the trot (P>0.05). However, fatigued muscles experienced higher EMG activity in the trained state at the walk (P<0.05). A similar tendency was observed at the trot. Results of this study suggest that surface EMG measurement may be useful for evaluating fatigue in exercising horses.
Publication Date: 1998-06-11 PubMed ID: 9622327DOI: 10.1111/j.2042-3306.1998.tb04496.xGoogle Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
Summary
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This is a research that studies the electrical activity of a certain muscle (long digital extensor muscle) in racehorses during exercise before and after a period of regular training.
Research Context
- The study investigates the electromyographic (EMG) activity of the long digital extensor muscle in Thoroughbred horses. EMG measures and records the electrical activity produced by skeletal muscles, in this case, a muscle on the right hindlimb of the horse.
- The research took place before and after an exercise test, and before and after an 8-week period of regular training. The exercise test involved the horses running on a motorised treadmill with an incline, with the speed increased every minute until the horse couldn’t keep pace.
Research Methodology
- The researchers used surface electrodes to collect the EMG activity for 8 seconds when the horse was walking and 8 seconds when the horse was trotting.
- The intensity of the EMG signal was measured using the root-mean-square (rms) value of the signal. The mean rms value for each horse was calculated and then these values were averaged across all the horses in the experiment.
Research Findings
- The average EMG activity at trotting was higher than at walking, indicating more muscle activity at a faster pace.
- For both gaits, the fatigued muscles showed higher EMG activity compared to the unfatigued state. This suggests that muscle fatigue increases electrical activity as the muscle is worked harder.
- After eight weeks of regular exercise, there wasn’t a significant change in the EMG activity of the unfatigued muscles during both walking and trotting. However, the fatigued muscles showed higher EMG activity in the trained state, especially when walking.
- These findings suggest that EMG measurements can be useful in evaluating fatigue in exercising horses.
Conclusion
- Muscle fatigue can be evaluated using surface EMG measurements, which could be useful in understanding muscle functioning and performance in racehorses. Moreover, regular training seems to result in a higher EMG activity in fatigued muscles).
Cite This Article
APA
Cheung TK, Warren LK, Lawrence LM, Thompson KN.
(1998).
Electromyographic activity of the long digital extensor muscle in the exercising Thoroughbred horse.
Equine Vet J, 30(3), 251-255.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2042-3306.1998.tb04496.x Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Department of Veterinary Science, Maxwell Gluck Equine Research Center, University of Kentucky, Lexington 40546, USA.
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Electromyography / veterinary
- Female
- Gait / physiology
- Hindlimb / physiology
- Horses / physiology
- Male
- Muscle Fatigue / physiology
- Muscle, Skeletal / physiology
- Physical Conditioning, Animal / physiology
Citations
This article has been cited 6 times.- Domino M, Borowska M, Stefanik E, Domańska-Kruppa N, Skibniewski M, Turek B. The Effect of Filtering on Signal Features of Equine sEMG Collected During Overground Locomotion in Basic Gaits. Sensors (Basel) 2025 May 8;25(10).
- da Silva NV, Bernardino Júnior R, Nomelini QSS, Pereira GF, Delfiol DJZ, Nogueira GM. Electromyographic and behavioral analysis of horses submitted to medial patellar desmotomy. Vet Res Commun 2024 Dec;48(6):4153-4158.
- Gamucci F, Pallante M, Molle S, Merlo E, Bertuglia A. A Preliminary Study on the Use of HD-sEMG for the Functional Imaging of Equine Superficial Muscle Activation during Dynamic Mobilization Exercises. Animals (Basel) 2022 Mar 20;12(6).
- Rankins EM, Manso Filho HC, Malinowski K, McKeever KH. Muscular tension as an indicator of acute stress in horses. Physiol Rep 2022 Mar;10(6):e15220.
- Busse NI, Gonzalez ML, Krason ML, Johnson SE. β-Hydroxy β-methylbutyrate supplementation to adult Thoroughbred geldings increases type IIA fiber content in the gluteus medius. J Anim Sci 2021 Oct 1;99(10).
- Valentin S, Zsoldos RR. Surface electromyography in animal biomechanics: A systematic review. J Electromyogr Kinesiol 2016 Jun;28:167-83.
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