Evaluation of Different Blood Parameters From Endurance Horses Competing at 160 km.

This research article investigates how different blood parameters change in endurance horses before and after a 160 km race. The study also examined the differences in cardiac biomarkers between the horses that finished the race and those that did not.

Study Design and Sample Population

• The research involved 52 healthy endurance horses that were classified into three groups. These included horses that successfully completed the race (finishers), those that failed the veterinary check primarily due to metabolic reasons (metabolic), and those that did not pass the veterinary check due to primarily gait-related issues (gait-related).
• The metabolic and gait-related group were further combined to form the ‘non-finishers’ group.

Methodology

• The researchers collected venous blood samples from the horses before and after the race. They examined these samples for various parameters, including cardiac troponin I (cTNI), α-HBDH, HFABP, ANP, LDH, symmetric dimethylarginine (SDMA), and asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA).
• These blood parameters were chosen because of their relevance to cardiovascular health and exercise physiology.

Findings

• The study found that LDH, SDMA, and ADMA increased significantly in the finisher group following the race.
• There was a significant increase in cTNI and α-HBDH concentration in both the finisher and gait-related groups after the race compared to the values before the endurance race.
• Furthermore, the study revealed that the longer the distance completed by the horses, the more these five blood parameters increased.
• Despite these findings, there were no significant differences between the finisher and non-finisher groups in the measured blood parameters either before or after the race.

Conclusions and Implications

• From the results obtained, one can conclude that endurance racing can influence certain blood parameters in horses. The increase in these parameters suggests that prolonged athletic activity may strain the cardiovascular system and affect its function over time.
• However, the absence of differences between finishers and non-finishers in regard to these cardiac biomarkers suggests that there may not be clear biomarkers to predict race performance.