Sanigavatee, K.; Poochipakorn, C.; Huangsaksri, O.; Vichitkraivin, S.; Pakdeelikhit, S.; Chotiyothin, W.; Wongkosoljit, S.; Wonghanchao, T.; Chanda, M. A Structured Exercise Regimen Promotes Neurophysiological Function Compared to Unstructured Physical Activities in Geriatric Horses. Preprints2024, 2024101468. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202410.1468.v1
APA Style
Sanigavatee, K., Poochipakorn, C., Huangsaksri, O., Vichitkraivin, S., Pakdeelikhit, S., Chotiyothin, W., Wongkosoljit, S., Wonghanchao, T., & Chanda, M. (2024). A Structured Exercise Regimen Promotes Neurophysiological Function Compared to Unstructured Physical Activities in Geriatric Horses. Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202410.1468.v1
Chicago/Turabian Style
Sanigavatee, K., Thita Wonghanchao and Metha Chanda. 2024 "A Structured Exercise Regimen Promotes Neurophysiological Function Compared to Unstructured Physical Activities in Geriatric Horses" Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202410.1468.v1
Abstract
Reduced autonomic responses have been reported in horses of advanced age, predisposing them to compromised well-being. Maintained physical exertion tends to preserve autonomic function in geriatric horses. However, the impact of structured exercise regimens on autonomic modulation in geriatric horses has yet to be elucidated. A study was conducted to compare the autonomic modulation in geriatric horses with different activity levels: living sedentarily (SEL), retaining unstructured activities (RAT) and practising a structured exercise regimen (SER). The study observed heart rate variability (HRV) and found that the minimum and mean heart rate decreased in SER horses at 10–12 weeks, with no changes in SEL or RAT horses over the study period. Beat-to-beat (RR) intervals showed no differences in SEL horses, temporal fluctuation at 8–10 weeks in RAT horses and an increase at 10–12 weeks in SER horses. HRV was higher in SER than in RAT horses, as well as in SER horses to a lesser extent. Geriatric horses engaging in a structured exercise regimen demonstrated better autonomic regulation, reflecting lower stress than those retaining unstructured activities or living sedentarily. These results carry welfare implications for developing health management in geriatric horses.
Biology and Life Sciences, Animal Science, Veterinary Science and Zoology
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
