Equine Exercise Physiology
Many horse owners are not entirely sure what exactly is “exercise physiology” and how or why it is so important to know and understanding when looking after the equine athlete.
Leslie Williamson, Senior Lecturer
This subject encompasses the disciplines of physiology, biochemistry, biomechanics, and kinesiology.
Studying and understanding of this subject has many benefits:
• Assessing potential performance.
• Assessing fitness levels.
• Improving athletic performance by determining training techniques.
• Preventing unnecessary muscle wastage due to early detection of injuries.
• Assessing and determining the appropriate treatment and care.
Exercise is dependent upon all bodily systems but in particular the musculo-skeletal and nervous systems for effective movement, and the cardiovascular and respiratory systems for maintenance, providing the fuel and removing the generated wastes and heat.
It is important to be able to understand the different stresses and strains created by the range of activities to which the horses are required to do.
For example, consider the following athletic disciplines:
Polo, polocrosse, camp-drafting, cutting, reining, barrel racing, dressage, showjumping, eventing, endurance, racing, carriage driving, harness racing and hunting as well as the types of exercise used to prepare the horse which may include swimming, lunging, treadmills, hill work, jog carts, walking machines and barrier starts.
However, we need to be mindful of prolonged or excessive inflammation attracts more fluid and encourages more migration of cells, which causes further irritation and activity. This results in an engorged area, which in turn inhibits venous return, adding to the problem.
The immobilisation of the animal only adds to this scenario (we will cover the importance of the circulatory system in the uptake of excessive fluid build-up next time).
This stagnant build-up of fluids and cells results in tissues adhering to one another and deposits of fibrous tissue, causing adhesions.
Adhesions restrict movement and can inhibit normal functioning. Worse still, if they are stretched, they tear, the inflammatory process starts again, and restoration to normal function is inhibited.
This often occurs if an injury is stressed too soon, or if the rehabilitation process is too aggressive. The overstretching and tearing of adhesions cause pain, which can result in muscle spasm. Muscle spasm inhibits blood supply, causing atrophy (muscle wastage) and then a much slower and more painful recovery takes place, secondary to the initial injury.
Massage plays an important role in monitoring, applying specialised techniques and assessing each phase of release within the fibrous tissue, restoring flexibility and slowly increasing stride length and stride frequency.
No matter what the exercise, a horse’s ability is determined by its genetic make-up and a training program, which enhances metabolic adaption to efficiently convert chemical energy into mechanical energy. There is lots more to this subject and each horse owner should do their best to better understanding the exercise physiology principles in order to maintain the longevity of their equine athletes.
