Influence of chiropractic care on sleep-related behavior of athletic Mangalarga Marchador horses.

Overview

• This study investigated how chiropractic care affects sleep-related behaviors in athletic Mangalarga Marchador horses, finding that chiropractic sessions reduced wakefulness and increased time spent lying down in lateral recumbency.

Introduction

• Sleep is essential for biological homeostasis in mammals, impacting health and overall welfare.
• Chiropractic care is a manual therapy focused on restoring joint mobility, correcting biomechanical issues, and improving physical well-being.
• The research focused on Mangalarga Marchador horses, a specific athletic horse breed, raised intensively, to understand if chiropractic care influences their sleep-related behavior.

Methods

• Sample: Nine Mangalarga Marchador horses aged approximately 4.2 years on average.
• Duration: Initial 72-hour observation of horses’ sleep-related behaviors before chiropractic intervention.
• Intervention: Each horse received a chiropractic session aimed at improving biomechanical function.
• Post-intervention observation was conducted for 72 hours following the first chiropractic session.
• After 35 days, a second chiropractic session was performed followed by another 72-hour pre- and post-session observation.
• Behavioral indicators monitored included wakefulness time and time spent lying in lateral recumbency (side-lying position), which is associated with deeper sleep phases.

Results

• Wakefulness time significantly decreased post chiropractic sessions: from 1,128.22 minutes pre-session to 1,063.66 minutes post-session (p=0.003), indicating horses were awake less after treatment.
• Time spent in lateral recumbency increased after both chiropractic sessions:
  • First session: 129.24 minutes before to 147.14 minutes after.
  • Second session: 88.55 minutes before to 143.10 minutes after (p=0.004).
• Increased lateral recumbency suggests improved rest or deeper sleep phases post chiropractic care.

Conclusions

• Chiropractic care appears to positively influence the resting and sleep-related behavior of athletic horses raised intensively by reducing wakefulness and promoting lateral recumbency.
• These behavioral changes may reflect better comfort or musculoskeletal function after treatment, potentially benefiting overall welfare and athletic performance.
• Further research using electroencephalography (EEG) is recommended to directly assess the impact of chiropractic care on the neurophysiological aspects of sleep in horses.