Oxygen Transfer in the Trained and Untrained Quarter Horse

Abstract

The recognition of the horse as a natural athlete has led to increased interest in equine sports medicine, exercise physiology, new training methods, and factors improving the performance of horses (Engelhardt, 1977; Milne et al., 1977; Bayly et al., 1983b; Persson et al., 1983). A considerable amount of research has been performed in recent years in order to describe the physiological responses of the horse to exercise and training (for reviews see Engelhardt, 1977; Physick-Sheard, 1985; Rose, 1985). Most of these studies, however, have examined the effects of acute exercise training rather than long-term, strenuous exercise training similar to that of a competitive performance horse. Furthermore, there are very few studies that describe the equine athlete’s response to detraining, how soon it starts, how much of it occurs, and how rapidly a horse can be retrained and placed back in competition. The purpose of this study was to: (1) evaluate selected cardiopulmonary and metabolic responses of the Quarter Horse to a standard exercise (treadmill) test during a 25-week program of endurance and interval training and (2) to examine the effects of an extended period of detraining and subsequent retraining on exercise performance.