Jansson, Anna and Gunnarsson, Vikingur Th and Ringmark, Sara and Ragnarsson, Sveinn and Söderroos, Denise and Asgeirsson, Einar and Jóhannsdòttir, Tanja and Liedberg, Charlotta and Stefánsdóttir, Gudrún
(2021).
Increased body fat content in horses alters metabolic and physiological exercise response, decreases performance, and increases locomotion asymmetry.
Physiological Reports. 9
, e14824
[Research article]
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Abstract
This study examined the effect of altered body weight (BW) and body fat content on exercise performance and recovery. Nine horses were divided into two groups, and changes in BW and fat content were induced by feeding a high (HA) or restricted (RA) energy allowance for 36 days in a cross-over design. In the last week of each treatment, BW and body condition score (BCS) were recorded, body fat percentage was estimated using ultrasound, and a standardized incremental treadmill exercise test (SET) and competition-like field test were performed (scored by judges blinded to treatments). Blood samples were collected, and heart rate (HR), rectal temperature (RT), and respiratory rate (RR) were also recorded. Objective locomotion analyses were performed before and after the field test. Body weight, body fat percentage, and BCS were higher (5-8%) in HA than in RA horses (p < 0.05). In SET, HA horses showed higher HR, plasma lactate concentration, RR, and RT than RA horses (p < 0.05), and lower VLa4, hematocrit (Hct), plasma glucose, and plasma NEFA concentrations (p < 0.05). Hct was also lower in HA horses in the field test, while RA horses showed higher scores (p < 0.05). After both tests, resting plasma lactate concentrations were reached faster in RA than in HA horses (p < 0.05). Objective locomotion asymmetry was higher in HA than in RA (p < 0.05). These results clearly show that increased BW and body fat content in horses lower physiological fitness in terms of VLa4, plasma lactate removal, Hct levels, plasma glucose availability and reduce true performance evaluated by blinded judges.
Authors/Creators: | Jansson, Anna and Gunnarsson, Vikingur Th and Ringmark, Sara and Ragnarsson, Sveinn and Söderroos, Denise and Asgeirsson, Einar and Jóhannsdòttir, Tanja and Liedberg, Charlotta and Stefánsdóttir, Gudrún | ||||||
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Title: | Increased body fat content in horses alters metabolic and physiological exercise response, decreases performance, and increases locomotion asymmetry | ||||||
Series Name/Journal: | Physiological Reports | ||||||
Year of publishing : | 2021 | ||||||
Volume: | 9 | ||||||
Article number: | e14824 | ||||||
Number of Pages: | 12 | ||||||
ISSN: | 2051-817X | ||||||
Language: | English | ||||||
Publication Type: | Research article | ||||||
Article category: | Scientific peer reviewed | ||||||
Version: | Published version | ||||||
Copyright: | Creative Commons: Attribution 4.0 | ||||||
Full Text Status: | Public | ||||||
Subjects: | (A) Swedish standard research categories 2011 > 4 Agricultural Sciences > 403 Veterinary Science > Medical Bioscience | ||||||
Keywords: | body fat, hematocrit, lactate threshold, locomotion symmetry, performance | ||||||
URN:NBN: | urn:nbn:se:slu:epsilon-p-112775 | ||||||
Permanent URL: | http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:slu:epsilon-p-112775 | ||||||
Additional ID: |
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ID Code: | 24865 | ||||||
Faculty: | VH - Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science | ||||||
Department: | (VH) > Dept. of Anatomy, Physiology and Biochemistry | ||||||
Deposited By: | SLUpub Connector | ||||||
Deposited On: | 16 Jul 2021 00:25 | ||||||
Metadata Last Modified: | 16 Jul 2021 05:01 |
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