Effect of conditioning horses every third day at v10 on measures of fitness

Abstract

This study examined the effect of exercising horses five times per fortnight with two bouts of 5 min duration at their v(10) with 2 days between consecutive exercise sessions. Five Anglo-Arabian horses were treadmill-conditioned for 6 weeks. A standardized exercise test (SET) was performed at the beginning of the conditioning period (CP) to determine the blood lactate-running speed (BLRS) and the heart rate-running speed (HRRS) relationship and the SET was repeated every 2 weeks. After each SET, the BLRS relation was used to calculate the horse's speed (v = velocity), which produced a blood lactate concentration (LA) of 10 mmol/l (v(10) ) and 4 mmol/l (v(4) ). From the HRRS was calculated the speed at which the horses had a heart rate of 180 b/min (v(180) ). Each horse was then conditioned for the next 2 weeks five times at its individual v(10) for two 5-min bouts. Exercise speed was individually adapted to the new v(10) every 2 weeks. In addition, horses were submitted to another SET prescription to determine the peak oxygen consumption (VO(2 peak) ) before, after 3 weeks and at the end of CP. The v(4) of horses increased during the CP (p < 0.05). v(180) did not change (p > 0.05). VO(2 peak) increased in the first 3 weeks of CP (p < 0.05) and levelled off afterwards (p > 0.05). The conclusion drawn was that exercising horses five times per fortnight at their v(10) for two 5-min bouts with 2 days between consecutive exercise sessions improved v(4) and VO(2 peak) but not v(180).

Reduced high intensity training distance had no effect on VLa4 but attenuated heart rate response in 2-3-year-old Standardbred horses

“…Evans and Rose [ 36 ] showed no change in exercise HR response during 7 weeks of training at mean velocities of 4–8.3 m/s and Lindner et al . [ 45 ] did not find any improvement in the velocity at HR 180 bpm in horses trained at a blood lactate concentration of 10 mmol/L for 6 weeks, in detrained and untrained horses. In the present study, horses had been in training for 6 months prior to the first test and a more marked HR reduction could probably not be expected.…”