Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

Research Grants Committee
Report for March  2004

The American Endurance Ride Conference Research Grants
Committee now has in place two studies that will take place
this summer. One is to be done by the University of
Pennsylvania, New Bolton Center with Mary M Durando, DVM,
PhD, Dip ACVIM (internal medicine) Research Assistant
Professor, Section of Sports Medicine as principal
investigator. 

This study is entitled; Can successful endurance performance
be predicted by physiology? Relationship between a
heart-specific regulatory protein (cardiac troponin I),
electrocardiograms, and competitive performance in endurance
horses.

Dr. Durando will compare performance with concentrations of
a specific blood parameter related to heart damage and
electrocardiograms in endurance horses competing in long
distance rides. This will be a field study, conducted on
site at the competitive endurance rides.  Horses will be
chosen at random, at each of three long distance rides.
Horses competing in both 50-mile and 100-mile endurance
rides at selected competitive endurance rides across the
country will be eligible for this study.  Inclusion of
horses will be dependent on owner permission, which will be
obtained in writing.

The second grant that is in place will be done by, Michigan
State University, with Harold Schott, DVM, PhD, Department
of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, as principal
investigator. 

Dr. Schott will:
1.  Design a web-based ?failure to finish? form with the
eventual goal of data entry to be performed by the horse
owner.
2.  To test this web-based form in a 2004 pilot case control
study of 80 horses that fail to finish 50 mile rides and 20
horses that fail to finish 100 mile rides (~5% of all horse
that fail to finish).
3.  To use this pilot data to establish a ?final? web-based
form for subsequent study of all horses that ?fail to
complete? in all 50 and 100 mile rides during 2005.

Dr. Schott will be contacting Ride Managers and Riders via
telephone to acquire his data on horses that do not complete
rides. He will also be examining ?Rider Cards? to obtain
additional information.

Both of these studies will be reported to the members of the
AERC via interim reports from the Research Grants Committee
as well as final reports to be published in the AERC News.

The co-operation of Riders, Ride Managers and Ride Vets with
these investigators will be greatly appreciated as the
entire membership of the AERC will benefit from the results.

Bob Morris, Chair
AERC Research Grants Committee





Bob Morris
Morris Endurance Enterprises
Boise, ID 

===========================================================Of course things 
aren't perfect,  perfect doesn't exist on this earth.
Doesn't mean we won't go on trying to get better at what we do. Besides, if
everything was perfect today, what would you do tomorrow? Slamming each
other doesn't get anything done.
~  Dot Wiggins

ridecamp.net information: http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/

===========================================================