Chapter 1.1 - The horse as an athlete: a physiological overview
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Objectives, Principles, and Methods of Strength Training for Horses
2017, Journal of Equine Veterinary ScienceCitation Excerpt :Not only the characteristic of the individual horse but also other conditions, such as the ridder, the environment where the horse works, the economy of the team, the individual goals of the season, etc., should be taken into consideration when training a horse. In order to prepare a horse adequately for competition, the horse should regularly perform the type of activity that it will perform in competition, at an intensity that will induce the physiologic changes needed to permit optimal performance [32]. Strength training should mimic the range and speed of the joint motion used in the sport [15].
Potential Effects of Stress on the Performance of Sport Horses
2016, Journal of Equine Veterinary ScienceCitation Excerpt :Hence, large, heavy breeds of horses were bred for draft work and used in either agricultural or military work, whereas lighter horses were bred for speed and endurance and were used mainly for transportation, herding, and sport [1]. In general, the athletic capacity of a horse is attributable to physiologic adaptations from their time living in the wild, such as their capacity to provide an explosive effort to escape from predators, becoming a species with superior athletic ability [1,2]. This “natural reaction” is commonly known as the “flight-fight response.”
Exercise testing in Warmblood sport horses under field conditions
2014, Veterinary JournalCitation Excerpt :Worldwide, horses are bred for use in sport, education and/or recreational riding. Training prepares a horse for the demands of its task by inducing physiological adaptations necessary for performance and to reduce injury risk (Hinchcliff and Geor, 2008). To assess fitness level and responses to training, exercise tests are used which usually evaluate several physiological factors that relate to the horse's fitness.
Comparison of daily heart rate variability in old and young horses: A preliminary study
2020, Journal of Veterinary BehaviorCitation Excerpt :In the remaining night hours, there were fewer differences in the young horses; they mainly included higher LF between 0101 h and 0400 h, and elevated LF/HF between 0200 h and 0500 h. Based on these observations, it is suggested that the increased activity of the sympathetic ANS component should stimulate the body to become active, which, in horses, may translate to the best time for training. It thus seems that early-hour training sessions for racing horses are justified (Hinchcliff and Geor, 2008). At this stage of research, it can be stated that, despite the similarities in the aging processes in horses and humans (Wiśniewska et al., 2019a), the decrease in ANS activity seen in geriatric patients during the night and early in the morning is not comparable with the decrease of the ANS activity in old horses.