ridecamp@endurance.net: Re: Equus article - endurance aftereffects

Re: Equus article - endurance aftereffects

Karen Steenhof (steenhof@cyberhighway.net)
Fri, 8 Aug 1997 05:35:17 -0700 (PDT)

>
> Research done at Washington State University showed that nearly a day
after
> a race, horses bodies are still working hard metabolically to replenish
> themselves. The hormone secreted by the adrenal glands when the body
> senses depletion of sodium was detected at higher levels the morning
after
> the race than before or immediately following the race. The vet who did
> the study was concerned about stressing a horse who is "still working
hard
> to recover" by trailering him a long way after an endurance ride.
>
There's been something that's been bothering me about this study for a long
time, and I have to get it off my chest. I was at the ride where this
study was conducted. It was a 2-day ride in northern Idaho in 1994. The
study was conducted on day 1. When it was time to leave on the 50-miler
the morning of the second day, the vet students, who were responsible for
drawing the blood, were sound asleep. So all the horses that were fit
enough, strong enough, and experienced enough to go the second day were not
sampled!!! That, to me is a serious bias. If these fitter horses had been
included in the sample, I don't feel the results would have been as
significant as they seemed to be. I'm not even sure if Dr. Schott is aware
of this screw up. Maybe someone will tell him about it.

As for the implications, personally, I think there is a tradeoff in making
a horse stay in a semi-stressful situation (ride camp) and getting him home
as quickly as possible to familiar surroundings where he can recover fully.
I suppose it depends, in part, on how comfortable a horse is with being
trailered.

Karen Steenhof
Boise, Idaho
steenhof@cyberhighway.net

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