Re: heart rates & recovery

[flemmerl@rcbhsc.wvu.edu (Flemmer, Linda)]

Tivers@aol.com wrote:
> In a message dated 12/22/98 6:14:57 AM Pacific Standard Time,
> grs@TheNetEffect.com writes:
> << Like what?  I'm just curious.
>  Glenda & Lakota >>
> 
> Well, let's see...body temp, some sort of dehydration index, a saliva test for
> cortisol, blood parameters--you could have a little machine that looked at
> strips measuring CK, glucose, etc.

In a normal vet check, body temp is checked if the horse is in any
distress (ex. pulse and respiration rates inverted, glazed look with
panting), and the vets are checking skin turgor (skin pinch), moistness
of mucous membranes (seconds to return to flat skin, pinch taken on the
point of the shoulder), jugular refill time, soundness (graded on a
scale), gut motility (per gut sounds).  

I would think that the other stuff you mentioned (CK, glucose, cortisol)
would be interesting, but we'd really need to establish a "baseline
normal" for a healthy exercising distance horse before it could be used
to evaluate a horse's ability to continue.  Do we have established
parameters for these labs in a working horse?  In sprinters?  In
endurance?

This isn't an area where I'm up to speed for horses.  Does the equipment
exist?  How invasive to get samples?  (Smear of saliva vs pinprick vs
tube of blood)

Linda Flemmer