This publication is a compilation of all Research Abstracts presented at the Ninth International Conference on Equine Exercise Physiology. Unlike previous ICEEP conferences there will not be a conference proceedings of full length manuscripts. These abstracts succinctly summarise a wide array of investigations relevant to the equine athlete, and will be useful to veterinarians and others involved in management of horses used for sport, work and competition. The abstracts encompass the topics of Applied Physiology; Biochemistry, Haematology, Endocrinology, and Thermoregulation; Cardiovascular and Respiratory; Muscle and Bone; Nutrition; Genomics, Proteomics, and Metabolomics; Biomechanics and Locomotion; as well as Physiotherapy, Rehabilitation, and Equitation science.The International Committee of ICEEP publishes these abstracts so that the most recent scientific information is available to a wide audience, including veterinarians, physiotherapists, trainers, owners and riders.The Introduction:The ability to accurately assess equine oxygen consumption (VO2) under field conditions has been limited by the need for unrestricted gas exchange.Methods: Two variations of a mask and an associated electronics control module (ECM) were designed to enable breath-by-breath measurement of airflows with two 8.0 cm diameter pneumotachometers located 7.5 cm in front of each narus and connected to differential pressure transducers mounted on the outside of the mask. The ECM was comprised of electronics for signal filtering to the flow transducers, an oxygen sensing cell, and an analog-to-digital converter all powered by a lithium-ion battery. The battery also powered a pump connected to gas sampling ports between the nares and pneumotachometers. Airflow and oxygen content of inspired and expired gases were recorded through the ECM and electronically transferred to a notebook. VO2 was determined from these recordings by an operator using a customized software analysis program. One mask encased the lower head (E). The other left the jaw free so horse could wear a bit and be ridden (R). Multiple treadmill exercise tests were undertaken by 6 horses to measure VO2max and blood gases. Each mask was worn twice and results compared to those from an open flow-through system (O) by 2-way RMANOVA (P<0.05). Utility of the system was evaluated using the intraclass correlation coefficient of 4 independent raters.Results: Blood gases and VO2max (152.0 ± 4.0 (mean ± SEM; O), 147.7 ± 4.3 (E), 150.7 ± 3.3 (R) ml/(kg.min) were not different between masks. VO2 measures were reproducible for each mask. Agreement between the 4 raters was excellent (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.99). Conclusions:Masks capable of measuring VO2 during field exercise were developed, tested and found accurate by multiple users.Ethical Animal Research: Studies performed were approved by the Institution's Animal Care and Use Committee (protocol #3807). Sources of funding: Institutional sources. Competing interests: Washington State University has filed notice of i...

In response to growing interest in equine welfare and the need for 4-H curriculum, a pilot study of equine welfare curriculum was conducted with 4-H clubs (N=15). An overall low response rate of 26.67% was experienced. An online survey was then conducted in order to determine factors affecting involvement. Time constraints for both youth and leaders were among the most commonly cited deterrents to completion. Survey responses also suggested that following a hybrid (of hard copy and online instruction) may increase usability and effectiveness of A Guide to Equine Welfare Assessment.

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The main factors influencing speed in athletes are stride length (SL) and stride rate (SR). However, conflict remains whether SL or SR is the key determinant of higher speeds. Quarter Horses (QH) generally reach higher speeds in their races than do Thoroughbreds (TB). However, the influence of SL and SR on this greater speed is unclear. Therefore, the main objective of this study was to compare SL and SR in QH and TB raced in short (sprint) and long (classic) distances. We hypothesized that QH have a higher SR in comparison to TB, and SR decreases as distance increases. Two race distances were analyzed for each breed: QH races of 100.6 and 402.3 m, and TB races of 1,207.0 m and 2,011.7 m. Data from twenty horses were obtained, consisting of five horses from each race distance (10 QH and 10 TB). Five individuals watched recordings of each race three times counting the number of strides taken by each winning horse. The SR was calculated using the average number of strides over a given race duration, and SL was determined by calculating the total number of strides over the distance covered. Speed was calculated dividing the distance by the time of the winning horse. The PROC Mixed Procedure was used to identify statistical differences between breeds, and between distances within the same breed. Results showed that although the SL of the TB was longer in comparison with the QH (P<0.001), the average SR in QH was higher than in TB (2.88 vs 2.34 + 0.03 strides/s; P<0.001). Further, QH classic distance demonstrated a faster speed than TB at either distance (P<0.001).  In conclusion, QH achieve a higher SR in comparison to TB (between 14-20% more than TB), confirming the importance of SR in achieving high racing speeds.