The Utility and Reliability of Treadmill Tests for Monitoring Thoroughbreds in Training

Area of Science:

• Equine Exercise Physiology
• Sports Science
• Veterinary Medicine

Background:

• Monitoring fitness and wellbeing in racehorses is crucial.
• Treadmill testing offers a controlled environment for assessing equine athletes.
• Reliable physiological markers are needed for effective training and health management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the test-retest reliability of five treadmill protocols for assessing Thoroughbred horses.
• To determine the effectiveness of heart rate (HR) and blood lactate (Bla) responses as monitoring tools.
• To compare the reliability of different treadmill gallop protocols.

Main Methods:

• Five treadmill protocols were used, including interval and continuous gallops at set speeds and grades.
• Heart rate (HR) and blood lactate (Bla) responses were measured in 64 Thoroughbred horses (823 gallops total).
• Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was used to assess test-retest reliability and absolute agreement.

Main Results:

• Overall mean heart rate (HR) across tests was 203 ± 11.3 bpm.
• Mean HR ICC of 0.756 indicated good reliability for gallop HR measurements.
• Blood lactate (Bla) responses were less consistent than HR, with recovery HRR reliability improving by 60-90 seconds.

Conclusions:

• Treadmill tests demonstrate acceptable reliability for measuring gallop HR and HR recovery in Thoroughbreds.
• HR is a more reliable indicator than Bla for monitoring fitness and wellbeing in racehorses.
• Specific protocols (gallops 1 and 5) showed higher reliability for HR assessment.