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Robert N. Oglesby DVM
Moderator
Username: dro
Post Number: 20479
Registered: 1-1997
| | Posted on Monday, Apr 14, 2008 - 7:47 am: |   |
Easy to read and follow despite being a very complicated subject, this summary speaks for itself.
DrO
Equine Vet J. 2008 Mar 14;
Unexplained underperformance syndrome in sport horses: Classification, potential causes and recognition.
Rivero JL, van Breda E, Rogers CW, Lindner A, Sloet van Oldruitenborgh-Oosterbaan MM.
Muscular Biopathology Laboratory, Department of Comparative Anatomy and Pathological Anatomy, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, University of Cordoba, Cordoba, Spain.
When inadequate training stress is applied and recovery time is insufficient, performance reduction and chronic maladaptation occurs. Known as overtraining syndrome (OTS), this complex condition afflicts horses in top training. The name of the syndrome implies causation and it is necessary to differentiate it from over-reaching, a term used in horses that, after suffering a loss of performance without an obvious clinical reason, recover their performance within 1 or 2 weeks. The term OTS should be used for horses in heavy training losing performance without an obvious clinical reason and which is sustained for >2 weeks. Despite considerable scientific investigations, the underlying mechanisms are still poorly understood and there are no objective biomarker for OTS. An imbalance between training and recovery seems to be the primary cause of this dysfunction. However, other factors such as transport, feeding, subclinical disease and general management may play a role. There is now sufficient evidence that red cell hypervolaemia is not a mechanism for the OTS in horses. A dysfunction of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenocortical axis is momentarily the only mechanism that may be related to the development of this syndrome. In the absence of a scoring system to assess the psychological status of horses, the most effective method for diagnosis is the thorough assessment of the history and presenting complaint (length of unexplained performance deficit, weight loss despite adequate feed intake, concurrence of unspecific subclinical problems, unsuccessful treatments and changes of behaviour). Standardised exercise tests are suggested to provide a way to detect subtle changes in hormonal responses in the individual, which may make an important contribution to the detection of early overtraining. But further longitudinal studies are needed to clarify mechanism(s) underlying OTS and to establish the potential for the use of a physiological test as a predictive tool of this disorder. |
Elizabeth Kaufman
Member
Username: ekaufman
Post Number: 474
Registered: 3-2007
| | Posted on Monday, Apr 14, 2008 - 9:49 am: | |
Hi Dr. O,
Can you offer some additional thoughts on the implications of this study for people who are training horses for competitive performance? Does age or prior training of the horse come into play? I assume it may, and wonder what your experience suggests.
I *think* this study potentially points to "too little, too often" as a contributor to OTS. Possibly "too late" as well, though the ages of the study horses do not appear in the summary.
In many of the non-racing sports, there is an increasing push to leave young horses out of serious training until they are 4 or so, and then to begin with very light very frequent work. I wonder if this approach compromises the future performance potential of these horses? Am I in the weeds? |
Imogen Bertin
Member
Username: imogen
Post Number: 1092
Registered: 4-2003
| | Posted on Monday, Apr 14, 2008 - 4:39 pm: | |
In humans chronic stress at a young age is thought to screw up your HPA axis permanently by affecting hippocampal receptors leading to a permanent low-cortisol reaction to stress. I wonder if it's the same in horses?
Hasten slowly with your young sport horses. Very light work indeed and plenty of long breaks.
Imogen |
Robert N. Oglesby DVM
Moderator
Username: dro
Post Number: 20489
Registered: 1-1997
| | Posted on Tuesday, Apr 15, 2008 - 6:38 am: | |
Elizabeth, this study is about a group of heavily trained horses who begin to under perform where there is not a clear predisposing and correctable cause. I do not see such a syndrome but we do not have race horses or very many heavily worked eventers. In our area hunters are the most heavily worked groups and not really pressed in a cardiovascular sense.
Imogen they do refer to a similar possibility in the paper.
DrO |
Imogen Bertin
Member
Username: imogen
Post Number: 1093
Registered: 4-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, Apr 15, 2008 - 8:52 am: | |
On the other hand if they are gently broken to ride at 3, they tend to be more manageable generally... as anyone who has ever had to break a 5yo or similar will attest. Maybe the old-fashioned way of light breaking at 3 then a good long rest at grass, and schooling at 4 wasn't so stupid.
Imogen |
