Does Swim Training Improve Athletic Performance of Mangalarga Marchador Horses?

Genetic diversity and population structure in Brazilian Mangalarga Marchador horses.

One hundred and fifteen unrelated Mangalarga Marchador horses were sampled from three geographically distinct regions of Minas Gerais State, Brazil (South, Southeast, and Northeast) and tested for 10 microsatellite loci. Genetic diversity and population structure parameters were estimated with ARLEQUIN 3.0, CERVUS 2.0, POPGENE 1.31, GENEPOP on the web, STRUCTURE 2.0, and SPAGEDI 1.2 software pa...

Heart rate variability in Mangalarga Marchador horses after physical exercise

The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of physical exercise (marcha gait) on heart rate variability indices in Mangalarga Marchador horses. Twenty-five animals, fourteen females and eleven males, aged 6.4 ± 2.7 years and with a mean weight of 428.3 ± 24.7 kg, were used. Electrocardiograms were recorded at two different time points: rest and immediately after exercise (40 min of aer...

Training and Fitness in Athletic Horses

Does musical training improve school performance?

In a retrospective study, we compared school performance of 53 children practicing music (group 1) with 67 controls not practicing music (group 2). Overall average marks as well as average marks of all school subjects except sports were significantly higher in children who do (group 1) than in those who do not practice music (group 2). In a multiple regression analysis, musical training, parent...

Training-induced changes in clotting parameters of athletic horses

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of training on prothrombin time, activated partial thromboplastin time, and fibrinogen (Fb) concentrations in horses to assess potential adaptive response to training. Fifteen clinically healthy horses were enrolled in the present study and equally divided into three groups. Group A completed an intense training program, group B participa...