Original Scientific Article
Variability of stress indicators in jumping horses in parkour due to horse age and competitive season
Maja Gregić * ,
Tina Bobić ,
Mirjana Baban ,
Gjoko Bunevski ,
Vesna Gantner

Mac Vet Rev 2020; 43 (2): 169 - 173

10.2478/macvetrev-2020-0029

Received: 15 June 2019

Received in revised form: 20 July 2020

Accepted: 31 July 2020

Available Online First: 16 September 2020

Published on: 15 October 2020

Correspondence: Maja Gregić, msakac@fazos.hr
PDF HTML

Abstract

Aiming to determine the variability in stress indicators due to horse age and competitive season (May, July, September) in jumping horses in parkour, research was performed on 14 studs (7 younger, and 7 older) trained and bred in the same conditions. The stress indicators (heartbeats, cortisol, glucose, and lactate concentrations in saliva) were measured or sampled before, during and at the end of the training - parkour jumping. The significance of the differences in stress indicators between the horse age classes regarding the competitive season was tested by Tukey’s test. Based on determined results it could be concluded that all stress indicators, during the entire competitive season, were higher in younger (less experienced) than in older (more experienced) horses. Furthermore, all stress indicators, with the exception of heartbeats, were highest in the peak of competitive season (July), while the lowest values of all stress indicators were determined at the end of competitive season (September). Monitoring of stress indicators, especially heartbeats, could be used for routine evaluation of horse preparedness for a particular activity.

Keywords: jumping horses, parkour, stress indicators

References

  1. Mills, D.S., Mc Donnell S.M. (2005). The domestic horse: the origins, development, and management of its behavior. Cambridge University Press.
  2. Hick, C., Hick, A. (2000). Physiology Short Textbook. Urban & Fischer Verlag, München, 41 – 77, 153 – 160. [in German]
  3. Becker-Birck, M., Schmidt, A., Lasarzik, J., Aurich, J., Möstl, E., Aurich, C. (2013). Cortisol release and heart rate variability in sport horses participating in equestrian competitions. Journal of Veterinary Behavior: Clinical Applications and Research 8, 87-90. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jveb.2012.05.002 PMid: 23380228
  4. Snow, D.H., Valberg, S.J. (1994). Muscle anatomy, physiology and adaptations to exercise and training. In: Hodgson D.R. and Rose R.J. (Eds.), The athletic horse (pp. 145-179). WB Saunders Company, Philadelphia, USA. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0749-0739(17)30749-6
  5. König, V., Borstel, U., Visser, E.K., Hall, C. (2017). Indicators of stress in equitation. Appl Anim Behav Sci. 190, 43–56. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2017.02.018
  6. Harbig, S. (2006). Performance monitoring of high performance eventing horses in competition and training: Studies on heart rate. Dissertation. Veterinary University, Hannover. [in German]
  7. Christensen, J.W., Beekmans, M., van Dalum, M., van Dierendonck, M. (2014). Effects of hyperflexion on acute stress responses in ridden dressage horses. Physiol Behav. 128, 39–45. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2014.01.024 PMid: 24518858
  8. Kroner, K. (2006). Blood and saliva parameters in cold blood horses at rest and during pulling work. Inaugural-Dissertation, München [in German]
  9. Strzelec, K., Pietrzak, S., Prochniak, T., Janczarek, I., Cywinska, A., Bereznowski, A. (2020). Salivary cortisol levels in horses and their junior riders during show jumping. Turkish Journal of Veterinary and Animal Sciences 44 (2): 391-395. https://doi.org/10.3906/vet-1908-17
  10. Schmidt, A., Biau, S., Möstl, E., Becker-Birck, M., Morillon, B., Aurich, J., Faure, J.M., Aurich C., (2010). Changes in cortisol release and heart rate variability in sport horses during long-distance road transport. Domest Anim Endocrinol. 38, 179–189. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.domaniend.2009.10.002 PMid: 19962266
  11. Klimke, R. (2012). Basic training for riding horses. Franckh Kosmos Verlag 7. [in German]
  12. Ille, N., Lewinski, M., Erber, R., Wulf, M., Aurich, J., Möstl, E., Aurich, C. (2013). Effects of the level of experience of horses and their riders on cortisol release, heart rate and heart-rate variability during a jumping course. Universities Federation for Animal Welfare, Animal Welfare, 22, 457-465. https://doi.org/10.7120/09627286.22.4.457
  13. Ille, N., Aurich, C., Erber, R., Wulf, M., Palme, R., Aurich, J., Lewinski, M. (2014). Physiological stress responses and horse rider interactions in horses ridden by male and female riders. Comparative Exercise Physiology 10 (2): 131-138. https://doi.org/10.3920/CEP143001
  14. Clayton, H. M. (1991). Conditioning sport horses. Sport Horse Publications, Saskatoon, Canada.
  15. Covalesky, M.E., Russoniello, C.R., Malinowski, K. (1992). Effects of show jumping performance stress on plasma cortisol and lactate concentrations and heart rate and behaviour in horses. J. Equine Vet Sci. 12, 244-251. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0737-0806(06)81454-1
  16. Couroucé, A., Chretien, M., Valette, J. P. (2002). Physiological variables measured under field conditions according to age and state of training in French trotters. Equine Vet J. 34, 91-97. https://doi.org/10.2746/042516402776181141 PMid: 10204407
  17. Couroucé, A. (1998). Endurance and sprint training. A. Lindner: Conference on Equine Sports. Medicine and Science (pp.190-202). Wageningen Pers, Wageningen.
  18. Munoz, A., Riber, C., Santisteban, R., Lucas, R. G., Castejon, F. M. (2002). Effect of training duration and exercise on blood- borne substrates, plasma lactate and enzyme concentrations in andalusian, anglo- arabian and arabian breeds. Equine Vet J. Suppl 34, 245-251. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2042-3306.2002.tb05427.x PMid: 12405695
  19. Rose, R. J., Evans, D. L. (1990). Cardiovascular and respiratory function in the athletic horse. In: J.R. Gillespie and N.E. Robinson (Eds.), Equine exercise physiology II (pp. 1-19). ICEEP Publications, Davis, California, USA.
  20. Brings, J., Platen, P., Hoffmann, E. (1998). Test method for assessing the endurance and sprint performance in women's handball. Leistungssport 6, 26-31. [in German]
  21. Röthing, P., Prohl, R. (2003). Sports Science Lexicon. 7. Auflage, Hoffmann Verlag, Schorndorf. [in German]
  22. Voswinkel, L. (2009). Influence of movement activity on growth and endurance parameters in the horse. Institute for Animal Breeding and Animal Husbandry of Agricultural Nutritional Sciences. Faculty of the Cristian Albrechts University in Kiel. [in German]

Copyright

© 2020 Gregić M. This is an open-access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Conflict of Interest Statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Citation Information

Macedonian Veterinary Review. Volume 43, Issue 2, Pages 169-173, e-ISSN 1857-7415, p-ISSN 1409-7621, DOI: 10.2478/macvetrev-2020-0029, 2020

The all content of the Macedonian Veterinary Review, except where otherwise noted, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License.