Technical note: Comparison of two methods to quantify exercise energy expenditure in trotters.

The abstract discusses a study intended to compare two methods of calculating energy expenditure in trotters, a breed of horse, during four different exercises. The research concluded that the two approaches yielded similar total energy expenditure numbers but estimated energy from measured heart rate was lower during warm-up and exercise phase in one specific routine. The study suggests the heart rate method could be a practical tool for assessing energy balance in trotters’ nutrition.

Objective of the Study

• The primary objective of the research was to compare two methods to determine the energy expended by trotters during four specific exercises: promenade, jogging, parcours, and interval exercises.

Methodology

• Six trotters were used for the study. They first did two preliminary tests to establish their individual maximum velocity and the connection between their oxygen consumption and heart rate in an incremental test.
• Subsequently, the horses each did the four exercises in weekly intervals to prevent fatigue.
• The intensity of these exercises was expressed as a percentage of each horse’s individual maximum speed; duration and distance were set according to standard training practices in France.
• A portable respiratory gas analyzer was used to continuously record the horses’ oxygen consumption and heart rate during the incremental test and the four exercises.

Analysis

• The energy used during three phases of the four exercises (warm-up, exercise, and recovery) and the total energy expended during the exercises were calculated from direct oxygen uptake measurements and from estimated oxygen uptake using heart rate and an O caloric equivalent.
• The total energy expenditure estimated from the two methods was compared.

Findings

• The study found that the total energy expenditure estimated from the two methods was not significantly different. But in the case of warm-up and exercise phase of ‘parcours’, the energy expenditure calculated from estimated oxygen uptake was lower than that calculated from direct oxygen uptake.
• Despite the fact that the heart rate measurement method requires the prior establishment of an individual oxygen consumption/heart rate curve, it is both easy to record and practical to use with commercially available instruments.

Conclusion

• The findings indicate that heart rate measurements could be used to estimate total energy expenditure during exercises in trotters, providing a potentially new way to assess energy balance in their nutrition.