Influence of time of day on body temperature, heart rate, arterial pressure, and other biological variables in horses during incremental exercise.
Abstract: We examined the response to exercise of selected physiological variables in horses performing the identical routine for eight days, in the morning (a.m.) or in the afternoon (p.m.). Heart rate (HR), systolic and diastolic blood pressure (BP), and body temperature (BT) were all consistently greater in the p.m. For BP and BT, the absolute increase above the a.m. values was the same at rest and during exercise. For HR, the absolute increase was greater during exercise, but the percent increase was the same as during rest. During exercise, blood glucose decreased, while blood lactate and skin temperature increased; these changes were the same during the a.m. and p.m. sessions. We conclude that there is no indication in horses of a difference in the responses of HR, BP, and BT to exercise between the a.m. and p.m. The circadian oscillations, however, alter the absolute values of these variables both at rest and during exercise, raising the possibility that the safety margins against hyperthermia and hypertension may decrease during p.m. exercise.
Publication Date: 2009-01-15 PubMed ID: 19142757DOI: 10.1080/07420520802689772Google Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
Summary
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The research article discusses how the time of the day, either morning or afternoon, influences various physiological variables such as body temperature, heart rate, blood pressure, etc in horses during their exercise routine.
Research Focus and Methodology
- The researchers were interested in studying how different physiological variables in horses responded to exercise during different times of the day.
- For a period of eight days, they observed horses performing the same exercise routine either in the morning (a.m.) or in the afternoon (p.m.).
- The variables they monitored included heart rate (HR), systolic and diastolic blood pressure (BP), body temperature (BT), blood glucose, blood lactate, and skin temperature.
Research Findings
- The researchers found that heart rate, blood pressure, and body temperature were consistently higher in the afternoon compared to the morning sessions.
- For blood pressure and body temperature, the increase from morning values was the same both at rest and during exercise.
- The absolute increase in heart rate was greater during exercise. However, the percentage increase was the same as during rest.
- Exercise led to a decrease in blood glucose, but an increase in blood lactate and skin temperature was seen. These changes were consistent regardless of whether the exercise was performed in the morning or the afternoon.
Interpretation and Conclusion
- The findings led the researchers to conclude that there were no significant differences in how heart rate, blood pressure, and body temperature responded to exercise in the morning versus the afternoon.
- However, the fact that the absolute values of these variables did change throughout the day highlighted that circadian oscillations could potentially influence these parameters.
- This suggested that horses might have decreased safety margins against conditions like hyperthermia (overheating) and hypertension (high blood pressure) during afternoon exercise.
Cite This Article
APA
Piccione G, Giannetto C, Assenza A, Casella S, Caola G.
(2009).
Influence of time of day on body temperature, heart rate, arterial pressure, and other biological variables in horses during incremental exercise.
Chronobiol Int, 26(1), 47-60.
https://doi.org/10.1080/07420520802689772 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Department of Experimental Science and Applied Biotechnology, Laboratory of Veterinary Chronophysiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Messina, Messina, Italy. giuseppe.piccione@unime.it
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Blood Pressure / physiology
- Body Temperature / physiology
- Circadian Rhythm / physiology
- Heart Rate / physiology
- Horses / physiology
- Male
- Physical Conditioning, Animal / physiology
- Time Factors
Citations
This article has been cited 3 times.- Avram R, Tison GH, Aschbacher K, Kuhar P, Vittinghoff E, Butzner M, Runge R, Wu N, Pletcher MJ, Marcus GM, Olgin J. Real-world heart rate norms in the Health eHeart study.. NPJ Digit Med 2019;2:58.
- Zakari FO, Ayo JO, Rekwot PI, Kawu MU, Minka NS. Daily rhythms of rectal and body surface temperatures in donkeys during the cold-dry (harmattan) and hot-dry seasons in a tropical savannah.. Int J Biometeorol 2018 Dec;62(12):2231-2243.
- Zakari FO, Ayo JO, Rekwot PI, Kawu MU, Minka NS. Diurnal rhythms of heart and respiratory rates in donkeys of different age groups during the cold-dry and hot-dry seasons in a tropical savannah.. Physiol Rep 2018 Sep;6(17):e13855.
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