Long-term endurance exercise severely affects metabolism in both human and animal athletes resulting in serious risk of metabolic disorders during or after competition. Young horses (up to 6 years old) can compete in races up to 90 km despite limited scientific knowledge of energetic metabolism responses to long distance exercise in these animals. The hypothesis of this study was that there wou...

Body measurements and performance results were collected from 193 equids participating in the 1998 Western States Trail Ride's 100-mile endurance race, commonly known as the Tevis Cup. Age of equids (horses, mules and ponies) were 5 to 21 years and body condition scores (CS) (NRC, 1989) ranged from 2.5 to 5.5. Equids were assessed for CS 11 to 18 hours prior to the race. Rider weight and tack (...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate horseshoe characteristics and high-speed exercise history as risk factors for catastrophic musculoskeletal injury in Thoroughbred racehorses. ANIMALS 377 horses (37,529 race starts). PROCEDURES Shoe characteristics included material, toe grab height, heel traction device, pads, and rim shoes. Racing variables were obtained from a computerized database. Forty-three hors...

OBJECTIVE To determine the incidence of and compare the types of catastrophic musculoskeletal injuries (CMIs) sustained in Thoroughbreds and Quarter Horses during racing at 3 Midwestern racetracks from 2000 to 2006. DESIGN Retrospective cohort study. ANIMALS 139 Thoroughbred and 50 Quarter Horse racehorses euthanized because of CMIs. PROCEDURES Veterinary officials from 3 Midwestern racin...

The Quarter-Horses regularly participate in non-traditional sports that simulate activities on cattle ranches. In the vaquejada races, horses run at about 30 km/h, reaching maximum heart rates of around 200 bpm, indicating great physical effort during competitions and with could impact welfare. To test hypothesis can be evaluated for quality welfare through a combination non-invasive invasive m...

BACKGROUND Serum amyloid A (SAA) is the major acute phase protein in horses. Its concentration increases in various pathologies but also in response to prolonged, strenuous effort. The purpose of this study was to establish whether routine race and endurance training produces changes in the SAA level in Arabian horses. Additionally, the differences between SAA response in experienced endurance ...

Few studies have investigated the physiological parameters of endurance horses in Scandinavia. Hence, this two race study has focused on the effects of endurance racing in terms of equine clinicopathological blood parameters, heart score, and fluid use. Race A involved 15 horses (120 km). Two pre- and one post-race blood samples were taken, body condition score was assessed in triplicate pre-ra...

BACKGROUND Exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage (EIPH) refers to bleeding from the lungs in association with strenuous exercise. It has been documented in race horses but little information exists on EIPH in barrel racing horses. HYPOTHESIS/OBJECTIVES Our goals were to evaluate the presence of EIPH in barrel racing horses and estimate its prevalence in the Pacific Northwest. ANIMALS 149 ba...

Injuries sustained by horses during racing have been considered as an unavoidable part of horse racing. Many factors may be associated with the musculoskeletal injuries of Thoroughbred race horses. This study surveyed the amounts of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents (NSAIDs) in injured horse's biological system (plasma) at Kentucky racetracks from January 1, 1995 through December 31, 1996. ...

Exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage (EIPH) commonly occurs in race horses. Thromboelastometry (TEM) investigates the whole hemostatic process by evaluating the viscoelastic properties of the blood clot from its formation to fibrinolysis. The aim of this study was to assess whether horses with EIPH have abnormal thromboelastometric profiles. Intrinsic and extrinsic pathways, fibrinogen activit...