exercise | Horse Racing Free Tips

Keys To A Seamless Career Change, From Shedrow To Breeding Shed

Stallions that transition from the racetrack to the breeding shed must learn a whole new routine and lifestyle. The AQHA recently published a few tips to ease the potentially stressful transition and to keep the new stallion mentally and physically fit.

A horse that changes careers should have his feeding program evaluated to ensure he is receiving the right amount of calories for his work load. Though it may not be as physically intense as racing, a breeding career still requires adequate caloric intake to ensure horse health, which helps safeguard semen health as well.

When the stallion isn't actively breeding, his feeding program should again be evaluated and potentially reduced. An overweight stallion that is asked to breed has additional strain placed on his joints as he breeds a mare or mounts a dummy.

The way a horse behaves has a lot to do with the amount of activity the horse does and how many calories he burns off. Turnout is helpful to keep a horse mentally sound as it allows him to release tension from breeding in a less-structured program than ridden work. A horse that gets enough exercise is tractable and able to be handled both in the shed and on the ground.

A well-defined routine can be key to keeping a stallion happy and his handlers safe. Certain cues can be used to let a stallion know what's coming, whether that is turnout time or a trip to the shed; this helps him focus and gives him parameters of what is expected of him during each part of his day. The ability to separate “work” (the breeding shed) from “play” (turnout or ridden work) is important to prevent the horse from having to guess what's coming next and keeping a stallion mentally happy.

Study: Intense Exercise Affects More Than Just Muscles

Scientists in Poland have discovered that intense exercise changes the amount of bacteria in a horse's digestive system. Exercise limits the amount of oxygen intestinal mucosa receives, which could stimulate bacterial growth in the digestive system so that more nutrients can be metabolized.

Drs. Wanda Górniak, Paulina Cholewińska, Natalia Szeligowska, Magdalena Wołoszyńska, Maria Soroko and Katarzyna Czyż used seventeen 3-year-old racehorses in training at Partynice Race Course for their study. All the horses were fed the same forage and were trained with only trot and canter work. The team asked the horses to race just over a mile (1,900 meters), and took fecal samples before and 48 hours after the work. The horses had not been worked at speed for two weeks prior to the study.

When comparing the bacteria in the fecal samples, the scientists found a significant increase in both Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes bacteria in all samples taken after the horses worked at speed, but they noted that each horse responded differently. This indicates that each horse may respond individually to exercise.

The changes in bacteria may allow for the diet, intensity, and quantity of training of racehorses to be adapted as a whole. The discovery of individual bacterial responses to exercise may lay the groundwork for specifically tailored diet and conditioning programs to improve horse health and the individual's ability to adapt to exercise.

Read the study here.

Like Humans, Exercise Reduces Stress In Horses

Exercise has been shown to lower stress levels in humans and research has shown that horses are no different: horses that are regularly exercised have lower levels of stress hormones than those who are not worked.

Drs. Ok-Deuk Kang and Wang-Shik Lee of the Jeju National University used 61 horses in a study to test stress levels of horses in various endeavors. Each of the horses fell into one of three groups: horses that weren't ridden at all, horses ridden in lessons and horses that gave rides to tourists.

Salivary samples were collected from each horse four times a day, including before and after an exercise session for the horses that were worked. The saliva samples were tested for cortisol levels; cortisol is a hormone produced when an animal is stressed.

The cortisol levels of all three groups of horses were lowest in the samples taken on the third day. The lesson horses had the greatest decrease in cortisol throughout the day. The horses ridden by tourists had the next most-significant drop, followed by the unridden horses.

The research team also tracked spikes in cortisol levels, which correspond with periods of increased stress. The highest spikes were found in the horses that were not ridden and the lowest spikes were found in the lesson horses.

The researchers concluded that consistent exercise reduces stress levels in horses even when the horses are ridden by beginner riders.

Why Do Horses Chew More Wood In Winter?

Even horses that don't typically chew wood may start nibbling wooden surfaces in winter, when temperatures drop. Studies have shown that some horses may chew on trees and fences in cold wet weather, perhaps because of an instinctive urge to ingest more roughage as temperatures dip.

Horses that pick up this habit should be evaluated by a veterinarian to rule out any nutritional deficiencies. If nothing is found to be wrong, wood chewing is considered a behavioral issue and these steps can be considered to correct it:

Eliminate access to wood sources. Though replacing fences and cutting down trees usually isn't an option, stringing an electrified wire inside the top board of fencing can prevent horses from chewing on fence boards.
Offer more hay. Providing more forage is the most effective option to stop wood chewing. Using a slow feeder can make hay last longer.
Make wood taste bad. Coating wood surfaces with a product that makes it taste bad discourages horses from chewing.
Increase exercise. Encouraging horses to move more, whether in a planned exercise regimen or on more-casual rides, can burn up extra energy that may go toward chewing.