Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-lnqnp Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-23T23:35:25.775Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Describing workload and scientific information on conditioning horses

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 2007

C W Rogers ,
J L L Rivero ,
E van Breda ,
A Lindner  and
M M Sloet van Oldruitenborgh-Oosterbaan
C W Rogers*
Affiliation:
Massey Equine, Institute of Veterinary, Animal and Biomedical Sciences, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
J L L Rivero
Affiliation:
Muscular Biopathology Laboratory, Department of Comparative Anatomy and Pathological Anatomy, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, University of Cordoba, Cordoba, Spain
E van Breda
Affiliation:
Department of Movement Sciences, Maastricht University, Nutrition and Toxicology Research Institute, Maastricht, The Netherlands
A Lindner
Affiliation:
Arbeitsgruppe Pferd, Heinrich-Roettgen-Street 20, D-52428 Juelich, Germany
M M Sloet van Oldruitenborgh-Oosterbaan
Affiliation:
Department of Equine Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Yalelaan 140, 3584 CM Utrecht, The Netherlands
*
*Corresponding author: [email protected]
Get access

Abstract

At the International Conference on Equine Exercise Physiology (ICEEP7), about 70 people attended the workshop on workload and conditioning guided by the authors. Most of the audience were involved in Thoroughbred or Standardbred racing, and only a limited number of people were mainly involved in FEI equestrian disciplines (sport horses). The workshop and this review article address the measurement of workload and conditioning of the Thoroughbred racehorse. It was proposed that workload could be quantified using a few selected parameters commonly recorded in the racing industries, such as velocity and distance, to generate a cumulative workload index. The review of conditioning focuses on the Thoroughbred racehorse and examines what can be modified with training, how training programmes should be designed based upon scientific methods and how training programmes should be routinely designed in current practice. It would appear that, in general, the methods used in practice for training Thoroughbred racehorses are quite similar to those used in a set of recent scientific studies, particularly in young (2–3-years-old) Thoroughbreds. Nevertheless, both the length of the training programme and the total amount of exercise are usually shorter/lower than ideal in order to maximize physiological adaptations within the animal's body. In planning the training programme, it is very important to recognize that different adaptations occur at different rates, and this will affect the relative amount of training that should be applied to achieve specific adaptations.

Keywords

horsetrainingworkloadThoroughbredracing
Type
Review Article
Information
Equine and Comparative Exercise Physiology , Volume 4 , Issue 1 , February 2007 , pp. 1 - 6
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2007

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1Goodship, AE, Cunningham, JL, Oganov, V, Darling, J, Miles, AW, Owen, GW and Kuipers, (1999). A bone loss during long term space flight is prevented by the application of a short term impulsive mechanical stimulus. Acta Astronautica 43: 65.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
2Dykgraaf, S, Firth, EC, Rogers, CW and Kawcak, CE (2004). Effect of exercise on cartilage and subchondral bone of young Thoroughbred horses. AAEP Focus on Joints. Louisville Kentucky, pp. 220–225.Google Scholar
3Foster, C, Florhaug, JA, Franklin, J, Gottschall, L, Hrovatin, LA, Parker, S, Doleshal, P and Dodge, C (2001). A new approach to monitoring exercise training. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 15: 109–115.Google ScholarPubMed
4Padilla, S, Mujika, I, Orbananos, J, Santisteban, J, Angulo, F and Goiriena, JJ (2001). Exercise intensity and load during mass-start stage races in professional road cycling. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 33: 796–802.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
5Rogers, CW and Firth, EC (2004). Musculoskeletal responses of 2-year-old Thoroughbred horses to early training. 2. Measurement error and effect of training stage on the relationship between objective and subjective criteria of training workload. New Zealand Veterinary Journal 52: 272–279.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
6Marlin, D and Nankervis, K (2002). Equine Exercise Physiology. UK: Blackwell Science Ltd, pp. 1–6.Google Scholar
7Davie, AJ (2006). A scientific approach to training Thoroughbreds. In: Lindner, A (ed.), Management of Lameness Causes in Sport Horses (pp. 69–83). Wageningen the Netherlands: The Wageningen Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
8Pilegaard, H, Ordway, GA, Saltin, B and Neufer, D (2000). Transcriptional regulation of geane expression in human skeletal muscle during recovery from exercise. American Journal of Physiology – Endocrinolygy and Metabolism 279: E806–E814.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
9Tyler, CM, Golland, LC, Evand, DL, Hodgson, DR and Rose, RJ (1998). Skeletal muscle adaptations to prolonged training, overtraining and detraining in horses. Pflügers Archives – European Journal of Physiology 436: 391–397.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
10Evans, DL, Rainger, JE, Hodgson, DR, Eaton, MD and Rose, RJ (1995). The effects of intensity and duration of training on blood lactate concentration during and after exercise. Equine Veterinary Journal Supplement 18: 422–425.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
11Young, LE, Marlin, DJ, Deaton, C, Brown-Feltner, H, Roberts, CA and Wood, JLN (2002). Hear size estimated by echocardiography correlates with maximal oxygen uptake. Equine Veterinary Journal Supplement 34: 467–471.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
12Rivero, JLL and Piercey, RJ (2004). Muscle physiology: responses to exercise and training. In: Hinchliff, K (ed.), Equine Sports Medicine and Surgery. London: Saunders Elsevier Ltd, pp. 45–76.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
13Miyata, H, Sugiura, T, Kai, M, Hiraga, A and Tokuriki, M (1999). Muscle adaptation of Thoroughbred racehorses trained on a flat or sloped track. American Journal of Veterinary Research 60: 1536–1539.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
14Yamano, S, Eto, D, Sugioura, T, Kai, M, Hiraga, A, Tokuriki, M and Miyata, H (2002). Effect of growth and training on muscle adaptation in Thoroughbred horses. American Journal of Veterinary Research 63: 1408–1412.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
15Smith, RK, Birch, H, Patterson-Kane, J, Firth, EC, Williams, L, van Cherdchutham, WWR and Goodship, AE (1999). Should equine athletes commence training during skeletal development? Changes in tendon matrix associated with development, againg, function and exercise. Equine Veterinary Journal Supplement 30: 201–209.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
16Rushall, B and Pike, F (1990). Training for Sport and Fitness. Melbourne: The Macmillan Company of Australia, pp. 1–6.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
17Lindholm, A and Piehl, K (1974). Fibre composition, enzyme activity and concentrations of metabolites and electrolytes in muscles of Standardbred horses. Acta Veterinary Scandinavica 15: 280–309.Google ScholarPubMed
18Misumi, K, Sakamoto, H and Shimizu, R (1995). Changes in skeletal muscle composition in responses to swimming training for young horses. Journal of Veterinary Medicine Series A 57: 959–961.Google ScholarPubMed
19Henck, RW, McKeever, KH, Always, SE, Auge, WK, Whitehead, R, Bertone, AL and Lombardo, JA (1996). Resitance training-induced increases in muscle mass and performance in ponies. Medicine Science in Sports and Exercise 28: 877–884.Google Scholar
20Serrano, AL and Rivero, JLLL (2000). Myosin heavy chain profile of equine gluteus medius muscle following draught-exercise training and detraining. Journal of Muscle Research and Cell Motility 21: 235–245.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
21Gansen, S, Lindner, A, Marx, S, Mosen, H and Sallman, HP (1999). Effects of conditioning horses with lactate-guided exercise on muscle glycogen content. Equine Veterinary Journal Supplement 30: 329–331.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
22Duarte, JA, Appell, HJ, Carvalho, F, Bastos, ML and Soares, JM (1993). Endothelium-derived oxidative stress may contribute to exercise-induced muscle damage. International Journal of Sports Medicine 14: 440–443.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
23van Ginneken, MME (2006). Adaptation of signal transduction and muscle proteome in trained horses. PhD Thesis, The Netherlands: University of Utrecht.Google Scholar