The Effects of an External Equine Nasal Strip on Thermoregulation During Exercise.

This research study explored the impact of external nasal strips on body heat regulation during moderate exercise in Standardbred breed horses. The researchers were unable to find a significant effect of the nasal strip on change in core or skin temperature or exercise duration to hit a threshold temperature.

Overview of the Study

• The study was conducted to understand whether the use of external nasal strips influences the thermoregulatory responses in horses during submaximal exercise. Previously, researchers have studied the effects of external nasal strips on factors like airway resistance, pulmonary hemorrhage induced by exercise, gas exchange, and fatigue timing in maximally exercising horses, but thermoregulation remained unexplored.
• The hypothesis of the study was that using an external nasal strip would change central venous temperature, skin temperature, and the time taken to reach a body core temperature of 40 °C during exercise.
• The study involved eight mature Standardbred horses, each of whom underwent two trials of submaximal exercise using a high-speed equine treadmill. In one trial, a nasal strip (NS) was used and in the other, it wasn’t (control). The exercise trial continued until the horse’s central temperature touched 40 °C.

Study Findings

• The researchers did not observe any significant changes in central or skin temperature between the NS and control groups in the stages of pre-exercise, actual exercise, or recovery.
• There were also no notable differences in the exercise duration required to reach a body core temperature of 40 °C between the NS group (mean=11.8 ± 1.5 minutes) and the control group (mean=11.5 ± 1.1 min).

Conclusion

• The study concludes that the application of an external nasal strip does not notably influence the equine thermoregulatory response during submaximal exercise. This indicates that the use of nasal strips wouldn’t alter the time it takes for a horse to heat up or cool down during moderate levels of exercise.