Though horses are born to run, there are many that experience the painful problem of having cramps while trying to change speeds. When a horse quickens his gait pace to a gallop, cramping has been an especially difficult problem to deal with. Horses are interesting in their running style because they link their breathing to the rhythm of their hoof beats. When horses run, they just don’t bring in enough oxygen to support their muscles, which constantly tire because of the natural existence of lactic acid that causes pain and cramping. Recently, there have been new findings in the industry that are allowing horses to break through this problem and improve their performance.
Much of the research has centered on how athletes recover from CO2 buildup in the body. Cramping is a huge problem is a number of highly physical sports, so scientists are looking to find links between the recovery of athletes and the way in which horses handle their strenuous activity.
When exercising, both people and horses don’t get nearly enough oxygen and because of that, produce large amounts of lactic acid and CO2. In order to recover from this, CO2 has to make its way through the bloodstream and leave out through the lungs. Lactic acid, on the other hand, has to be neutralized in the body.
Scientists have found that recovering from lactic acid buildup is a momentary response and it becomes much more efficient if the body has all of its systems working at the highest level. Without that high level ability, the body struggles, though.
In horses, there have been some extreme cases which leave horses unable to run ever again. If horses are caused to constantly over-exert themselves, they could suffer from acidosis, which cuts off oxygen flow so severely that long-term fatigue can occur. In some cases, permanent muscle damage has occurred. This has prompted many within the horse world to question training methods among horses and how much activity they are put through.
Scientists put a number of horses through some extensive testing. They placed horses on a treadmill and gave each one a different treatment out of three available treatments. The first group of horses was given the chance to naturally recover from their exercise period. The second group was given carbonic anhydrase inhibitor a few days before they were put through the exercise program. The third group was granted that same inhibitor just a few minutes before hopping on the treadmill. The horses were also outfitted with CO2 masks, which collected the gas. Scientists used special methods to follow the gas’s progression through the body.
Scientists continue to work hard to try to come up with new ways to keep horses in top physical condition. Their findings were somewhat incomplete, though they did discover that when the carbon dioxide left the cells in a timely fashion, normal function was reached much more quickly. Future testing has been planned to discover more ways to improve the recovery time of these horses and allow for greater performance in activity.
Patricia Reszetylo
http://EquineTeleseminar.net
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