Physiological variables measured under field conditions according to age and state of training in French Trotters.

The research study analyses the impact of age and training intensity on specific physiological variables, like HR4, V2, V4, and V200, in French Trotters, a breed of trotting horses. The study found that these physiological variables improve both with age and the level of training, suggesting their utility as objective fitness indices in a commercial training setup.

Introduction and Hypotheses

• The researchers hypothesized that certain physiological variables (V2, V4, HR2, HR4, and V200) would improve with age and training intensity in a breed of racing horses named French Trotters.
• These physiological variables differentiated in the study relate to the velocity at which a horse reaches a blood lactate concentration of 2 and 4 mmol/l (V2 and V4, respectively), the corresponding heart rate (HR2 and HR4), and the velocity achieved for a heart rate of 200 bpm (V200).

Methodology

• Overall, the six-year-long study involved 194 French Trotters from a single training establishment, resulting in 1105 standardized field exercise tests on a sand training track.
• The horses were divided into six age groups starting from one year to more than six years, and four levels of training (beginning, endurance training, sprint training, racing).
• A 2-way analysis of variance was implemented to assess the influences of age, training, and their interaction on the target physiological variables under study.

Results and Findings

• The study discovered a significant influence of age on V2, V4, HR4, and V200, with values increasing as the horses got older.
• The level of training also significantly influenced V2, V4, and V200, substantiating that these physiological variables increase with training.
• An essential observation was that both training and age influence V2, V4, and V200.

Conclusions

• The research concludes that the measured physiological variables could serve as useful, objective fitness indices in a commercial training environment.
• The findings, collected in a standard and reproducible field environment, align with previous laboratory-based experimental studies.