Re: RC: Hematocrits

[CMKSAGEHIL@aol.com]

In a message dated 11/9/99 5:49:54 AM Pacific Standard Time, 
steenhof@cyberhighway.net writes:

<< Would you expect a horse's resting (pre-ride) packed cell volume to change
 with conditioning?
 If so, would measurements of  PCV have any value in evaluating which horses
 are fitter than others? >>

Karen, if you can be assured of catching the PCV when the horse is at rest it 
can be SOME indication of health, but not a very reliable one.  The thing 
that makes PCV's difficult to use as indicators is that the horse has a 
tremendous reserve of red cells in the spleen and can dump them in varying 
amounts into circulation at the slightest hint of stress (some do this more 
readily than others) so that the PCV will be higher than what it "really" is.

If a horse is at all dumpy or has poor recoveries, it is worth taking a look 
at a PCV to make sure he is not anemic (among running other tests).  But 
beyond that, I don't think it is a very good prognosticator.

I can remember working at the track many years ago and having all the 
trainers excited about PCV's--the vets were always out pumping the horses 
full of iron, B vitamins, etc., to get one more point on that PCV, but in 
retrospect, I think they sometimes did more harm than good...  Some horses 
ran higher than others, and it really didn't have a lot to do with their 
performance.

Heidi


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