Total blood volume in the normally performing Standardbred trotter: age and sex variations.

The research study examines how age and gender influence blood volume parameters – total blood volume, plasma volume, and red cell volume – in Standardbred trotting racehorses. The aim is to understand these relationships better and establish reference values for healthy racehorses.

Study Overview

• This study aimed to understand the influence of age and sex on mass-specific blood volume parameters in Standardbred trotting racehorses. The parameters studied were total blood volume (TBV/BW), plasma volume (PV/BW), total red cell volume (CV/BW), and maximal packed cell volume (PCV).
• The motivation for this research is to determine the normal ranges for these parameters and discover if anomalies can be detected more precisely by accounting for age and sex influences.
• A total of 205 performing racehorses were chosen for this study. Performance was based on owners’ and trainers’ satisfaction with the horse’s racing or training progress.

Methodology

• The researchers chose the Evans Blue Dye Dilution Technique for the blood volume determination part of the study. This technique was applied after exercising the horse to empty the spleen.
• This technique enabled the researchers to measure the above parameters accurately and determine their relationship with age and sex.

Findings

• The results indicated significant variations in the blood volume parameters, mostly in CV/BW, based on age and sex. However, the only parameter where this variability might not be significant is PV/BW.
• Therefore, the study suggests that these age and sex variations need to be considered when predicting normal blood volume parameters in racehorses.

Implications

• The study concluded that considering age and sex variations will make predictions for normal blood volume parameters more reliable in Standardbred trotters.
• The detection of abnormal fluctuations will also become more precise if five age and sex groups are used for comparisons.
• Thus, these findings could potentially enhance the monitoring and management of health in Standardbred trotting racehorses in a sex- and age-specific manner.