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Home / Equine Research Bank / Equine Vet J / Skeletal muscle characteristics in young trained and untrain...
Equine veterinary journal1992; 24(4); 292-294; doi: 10.1111/j.2042-3306.1992.tb02838.x

Skeletal muscle characteristics in young trained and untrained standardbred trotters.

Abstract: Muscle biopsies were taken from the middle gluteal muscle of 28 Standardbred trotters, 3-4 years of age. The 13 horses in Group T were trained consistently from 18 months of age, whereas the 15 horses in Group UT were not exposed to any systematic training before 3 years of age. Group T horses had a lower percentage of Type IIB fibres (31%) than did Group UT horses (39%). Citrate synthase (CS) activity, representing oxidative capacity, was higher in Group T (72 mmol kg-1 min-1) than in Group UT (47 mmol kg-1 min-1). Biopsies were taken from 4 horses in each group when they were foals and then annually until 3-4 years of age. Results from this study indicate that regular training of Standardbreds from 18 months of age resulted in increased CS activity and a decrease in the percentage of Type IIB fibres. This study shows that training, not growth, is the main factor that induces a high oxidative capacity and a high Type IIA/IIB fibre ratio in muscle of Standardbred trotters.
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Publication Date: 1992-07-01 PubMed ID: 1499537DOI: 10.1111/j.2042-3306.1992.tb02838.xGoogle Scholar: Lookup
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  • Comparative Study
  • Journal Article
  • Research Support
  • Non-U.S. Gov't

Summary

This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.

This research investigates the effects of regular training on the muscle characteristics of young Standardbred trotters. The study concluded that consistent training, rather than growth, significantly increases oxidative capacity and a high Type IIA/IIB fibre ratio in the muscles of these horses.

Study Design and Participants

  • The study involved 28 Standardbred trotters aged between 3 and 4 years. The horses were divided into two groups – Group T consisting of 13 horses which were consistently trained since 18 months of age, and Group UT made up of 15 horses which were not exposed to any systematic training until they turned 3.

Biopsy and Data Collection

  • Muscle biopsies were collected from the middle gluteal muscle of all participating horses. Additional biopsies were taken from four horses from each group when they were foals and then annually until they were 3 to 4 years old.
  • The main variables of interest were the citrate synthase (CS) activity, representing oxidative capacity, and the percentage of Type IIB fibres, both of which are important muscle parameters.

Results and Conclusions

  • The trained group (Group T) showed a lower percentage of Type IIB fibres (31%) compared to the untrained group (Group UT) which had 39%. This suggests that regular training reduces the proportion of these fast-twitch, power-oriented fibres.
  • Group T also showed higher CS activity (72 mmol kg-1 min-1) compared to Group UT (47 mmol kg-1 min-1), indicating increased oxidative capacity due to regular training.
  • The implications of these results point to the assertion that consistent training from a relatively young age (around 18 months in this case), significantly modifies the muscle characteristics in trotting horses, specifically increasing oxidative capacity and the ratio of Type IIA/IIB fibres.
  • The study concludes that growth alone does not appear to be a significant factor in these changes, instead, the systematic training contributes majorly to these changes.

Cite This Article

APA
Ronéus M, Essén-Gustavsson B, Lindholm A, Persson SG. (1992). Skeletal muscle characteristics in young trained and untrained standardbred trotters. Equine Vet J, 24(4), 292-294. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2042-3306.1992.tb02838.x

Publication

Equine veterinary journal
ISSN: 0425-1644
NlmUniqueID: 0173320
Country: United States
Language: English
Volume: 24
Issue: 4
Pages: 292-294

Researcher Affiliations

Ronéus, M
  • Department of Medicine and Surgery, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala.
Essén-Gustavsson, B
    Lindholm, A
      Persson, S G

        MeSH Terms

        • Analysis of Variance
        • Animals
        • Biopsy, Needle / veterinary
        • Buttocks
        • Citrate (si)-Synthase / analysis
        • Female
        • Histocytochemistry
        • Horses / anatomy & histology
        • Horses / physiology
        • Male
        • Muscle Development
        • Muscles / anatomy & histology
        • Muscles / enzymology
        • Oxidation-Reduction
        • Physical Conditioning, Animal
        • Regression Analysis

        Citations

        This article has been cited 7 times.
        1. Valberg SJ, Velez-Irizarry D, Williams ZJ, Henry ML, Iglewski H, Herrick K, Fenger C. Enriched Pathways of Calcium Regulation, Cellular/Oxidative Stress, Inflammation, and Cell Proliferation Characterize Gluteal Muscle of Standardbred Horses between Episodes of Recurrent Exertional Rhabdomyolysis.. Genes (Basel) 2022 Oct 14;13(10).
          doi: 10.3390/genes13101853pubmed: 36292738google scholar: lookup
        2. White SH, Warren LK, Li C, Wohlgemuth SE. Submaximal exercise training improves mitochondrial efficiency in the gluteus medius but not in the triceps brachii of young equine athletes.. Sci Rep 2017 Oct 30;7(1):14389.
          doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-14691-4pubmed: 29085004google scholar: lookup
        3. Ringmark S, Lindholm A, Hedenström U, Lindinger M, Dahlborn K, Kvart C, Jansson A. Reduced high intensity training distance had no effect on VLa4 but attenuated heart rate response in 2-3-year-old Standardbred horses.. Acta Vet Scand 2015 Mar 20;57(1):17.
          doi: 10.1186/s13028-015-0107-1pubmed: 25884463google scholar: lookup
        4. Petersen JL, Valberg SJ, Mickelson JR, McCue ME. Haplotype diversity in the equine myostatin gene with focus on variants associated with race distance propensity and muscle fiber type proportions.. Anim Genet 2014 Dec;45(6):827-35.
          doi: 10.1111/age.12205pubmed: 25160752google scholar: lookup
        5. Stefánsdóttir GJ, Ragnarsson S, Gunnarsson V, Jansson A. Physiological response to a breed evaluation field test in Icelandic horses.. Animal 2014 Mar;8(3):431-9.
          doi: 10.1017/S1751731113002309pubmed: 24387835google scholar: lookup
        6. McGivney BA, McGettigan PA, Browne JA, Evans AC, Fonseca RG, Loftus BJ, Lohan A, MacHugh DE, Murphy BA, Katz LM, Hill EW. Characterization of the equine skeletal muscle transcriptome identifies novel functional responses to exercise training.. BMC Genomics 2010 Jun 23;11:398.
          doi: 10.1186/1471-2164-11-398pubmed: 20573200google scholar: lookup
        7. Mänttiri S, Anttila K, Kaakinen M, Järvilehto M. Effects of low-intensity training on dihydropyridine and ryanodine receptor content in skeletal muscle of mouse.. J Physiol Biochem 2006 Dec;62(4):293-301.
          doi: 10.1007/BF03165758pubmed: 17615955google scholar: lookup
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