A recent study conducted by scientists in Sweden and Iceland examined the effect of altered body weight and body fat content on exercise performance and recovery. Nine horses were divided into two groups, and changes in bodyweight and fat content were induced by feeding a high or restricted energy diet. After 36 days, horses were switched to the other diet and the study was repeated. In the last week of each diet, bodyweight and body condition score were recorded, body fat percentage was estimated using ultrasound, and a standardized incremental treadmill exercise test and competition-like field test were performed.
Bodyweight, body fat percentage, and body condition score were higher (5 to 8 percent) in high energy horses compared to horses fed the restricted energy diet. In the standardized exercise test, horses on the high energy diet performed more poorly and recovered more slowly compared to horses fed the restricted energy diet. Additionally, locomotion asymmetry was greater in horses fed the high energy diet compared to the restricted energy diet. These results confirmed that increased bodyweight and body fat in horses lowered physiological fitness, reduced symmetry, and decreased performance ability. For more information on this research, read the paper published in Physiological Reports.
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