Test 1 Equine Ex. Phys

37 flashcards · Other · by Emma Yarbrough

1. **Why are horses considered good athletes?

   High maximal aerobic capacity Large intramuscular stores of energy substrates (glycogen) High mitochondrial volume in muscles Increase oxygen carrying capacity of blood Efficiency of Gait Efficient thermoregulation

2. How does the horse increase oxygen-carrying capacity of blood?

   Splenic contraction at onset of exercise -- natural blood dopers

3. What does it mean that horses have high maximal aerobic capacity?

   Really good at getting oxygen to muscle Really good at using oxygen once it gets to muscle

4. **What factors contribute to horses' high maximal aerobic capacity?

   higher hemoglobin concentration high VO2 max large maximum cardiac output proportionately large hearts (1% BW)

5. Role of genetics in performance:

   performance is a heritable trait (speed, conformation, temperament)

6. Role of environment in performance:

   nutrition during growth training "will to win"

7. Horse's response to exercise in the body:

   response to exercise is integrated in the animal to maintain homeostasis.

8. **Training:

   necessary for effective and safe competition induces the physiological adaptations necessary to perform at a high level minimizes risk of injury appropriate behavioral and psychological factors task-specific horses should regularly perform at the intensity and perform the type of activity they will compete at to induce the physiological changes needed for optimal performance

9. 3 principles of training (humans):

   repetition summation duration

10. repetition:

    must be repetition of training stimulus; # of repetitions varies with intensity of exercise

11. summation:

    total amount of work performed. must induce some strain to elicit a response

12. duration:

    training stimulus must be of sufficient duration to induce an effect

13. Overtraining:

    loss of performance ability despite maintenance/increase in training effort which cannot be explained by any discrete pathology

14. Common outcomes of overtraining:

    chronic fatigue lack of training progress injuries

15. Symptoms of overtraining:

    reluctance to exercise nervous sweating diarrhea (before a race/training session)

16. Potential contributions to overtraining:

    conformation training surface age of horse stage of training

17. Overtraining imbalance:

    training and recovery exercise and exercise capacity stress and stress tolerance nutrition may play a role in some cases

18. 4 commonly studied athletic species:

    humans horses greyhounds racing camel

19. Hematocrit:

    percentage of total blood volume occupied by red blood cells elevates slightly in humans with exercise horse releases a large number of rbcs from spleen during exercise

20. **How does adaptation (adaptive training) happen?

    increased production of proteins accumulation of metabolites and waste products potentially induces increased transcription of DNA organs increase in function and size

21. Adaptive training:

    some physiological processes, function, or anatomical structures can adapt to the stresses/strains of repetitive exercise

22. What do adaptations (adaptive training) do?

    work to reduce the "stress" associated with exercise by increasing the capacity of the systems

23. *Camels:

    low hematocrit lowest concentration of RBC low max HR adds up to low VO2 max can exercise at 100% VO2 max for 18 minutes 70% type 1 muscle fibers

24. Fatigue resistance and VO2 max:

    athletes that can perform at a higher percentage of their VO2 max for longer periods have better fatigue resistance

25. Type 1 muscle fibers:

    slow twitch (ST) endurance

26. Type 2 muscle fibers:

    fast twitch (FT) sprinters

27. 3 factors in improvement in racing times:

    genetics environment training

28. Genetics and improvement in racing times:

    genetic factors determine the ultimate limits of an athlete's performance 35% of the variance in ability is from genetics environmental and training factors determine how close the athlete can get to the limit

29. Major energy for muscle contraction:

    oxidation of carbohydrates and fat

30. carbohydrates:

    90% of total body stores in muscle horses are able to store more than sled dogs and humans

31. fat:

    stored in adipose tissue (>85%) and muscle

32. Gait efficiency:

    muscular work of galloping is halved elastic storage of energy in muscle and tendon units

33. Harvard Fatigue Lab research areas:

    Rations Clothing heat dissipation Frostbite Trenchfoot

34. How did the questions of scientists shift after the industrial revolution?

    Shifted from "how do we make work easier and more efficient" to "how do we get faster times and more endurance"

35. Sune Persson:

    Pioneer of equine exercise science Swedish trotting horses in 1960 first to use a treadmill

36. **Scientific and industry-driven interest in Ex. phys field:

    faster racing times fewer working hours spent training per horse fewer injuries improved animal welfare long-term financial benefits for owners/trainers/breeders

37. **Why is a lot of equine exercise research focused on racing?

    funding opportunities easy to measure results large cohorts of similar horses horses live at tracks