Re: RC: Re: Tieing up

[Tivers@aol.com]

In a message dated 2/19/00 5:27:50 PM Pacific Standard Time, CMKSAGEHIL 
writes:

<< Clearly you don't.  It is one of several, but also one of the most 
reliable--especially when taken on to the next step as a CRI.  Good ride vets 
will pull horses who have good recoveries but other poor parameters--but I've 
never met a one who would send a horse out with a poor recovery even if 
everything else looked fine.  Clinical experience DOES count for something, 
believe it or not.  And as I recall, I was not the Lone Ranger in trying to 
remind you of that last time, either, so I guess the rest of the seasoned 
docs out there are pretty darn dumb, too.
 
 Heidi >>

Heidi,

If you dyslexia doesn't interfere too much, plese try to stumble your way 
through this  recent abstract. Veterinary magic tricks and wondrous intuition 
evaporate under hard scrutiny. 


J Sports Med Phys Fitness 1998 Sep;38(3):181-7 




Equine Vet J Suppl 1995 Nov;(20):78-84 



Clinical observations made in nonheat acclimated horses performing treadmill 
exercise in cool (20 degrees C/40%RH), hot, dry (30 degrees C/40%RH) or hot, 
humid (30 degrees C/80%RH) conditions.

Harris PA, Marlin DJ, Mills PC, Roberts CA, Scott CM, Harris RC, Orme CE, 
Schroter RC, Marr CM, Barrelet F
Physiology Unit, Animal Health Trust, Newmarket, UK. 

Four horses (H, J, N and M) undertook a treadmill competition exercise test 
(CET), designed to simulate the physiological and metabolic stresses of the 
Speed and Endurance phase of a 3-day-event, under 3 different environmental 
conditions: 20 degrees C/40% relative humidity (RH) (cool, dry [CD]: 2 
sessions); 30 degrees C/40%RH (hot, dry [HD]) and 30 degrees C/80%RH (hot, 
humid [HH]) (Marlin et al. 1995). A number of subjective clinical 
observations were made at designated time points throughout the exercise test 
and initial recovery period including buccal mucous membrane colouration, 
capillary refill time, neck and point of shoulder skin pinch recovery time, 
grade of abdominal sounds; anal sphincter tone as well as the presence or 
absence of fatigue and ataxia. The aim was to investigate their value in 
predicting performance in the final canter phase of the CET equivalent to the 
cross-country or Phase D of a field competition. In addition, the use of a 
more objective assessment, the cardiac recovery index (CRI), was investigated 
together with the heart rate, rectal temperature and respiratory frequency at 
the end of Phase C and at the 8 min point of the 10 Minute Box (8'X). The CRI 
was calculated according to the formula CRI = P2-P1 where P2 = the heart rate 
in beats/min at the 8 min point of the '10 Minute Box' (Phase X) of the CET. 
P1 = the heart rate (beats/min) at the 7 min point just before the horse was 
made to trot over a distance of 80 m at a speed of 3.7 m/s (at a 3 degrees 
incline) before returning to a walk. The study suggested that the subjective 
tests carried out at the 'End-C' and/or '8'X' time points were not useful in 
predicting subsequent performance in the final canter phase (Phase D) and 
neither were heart rate, rectal temperature or respiratory frequency. However,
 the only horse (Horse H) to complete the full CET under HH conditions was 
the only animal to show a decrease in respiratory frequency between the End-C 
and 8'X time points. All others showed an obvious increase. Under HH 
conditions, Horse H also had the lowest CRI. For 3 of the horses the highest 
CRI value was found under the HH conditions, for the fourth horse an equally 
high CRI value was found with one of the CD sessions. However, under the HH 
conditions, both P1 and P2 values were > 100. The study suggested that it 
could be beneficial if a suitably modified CRI test, as well as a procedure 
to monitor the change in respiratory frequency during the 10 Minute Box, were 
evaluated further on the treadmill and in the field with respect to their 
potential usefulness as additional aids to the assessment of a horse's 
suitability to proceed to Phase D.