(PhD) THESIS ANIKÓ VINCZE

138 Pages·2016·1.42 MB·English

by  Aniko Vincze

DOCTORAL (PhD) THESIS

ANIKÓ VINCZE

KAPOSVÁR UNIVERSITY
FACULTY OF AGRICULTURAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL
SCIENCES

2016
KAPOSVÁR UNIVERSITY
FACULTY OF AGRICULTURAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES

The Head of Doctorate (PhD) School:
Prof. Dr. Melinda Kovács
Corresponding Member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences

Supervisor:
Dr. Csaba Szabó PhD
Debrecen University, associate professor

Co-Supervisor:
Dr. Ákos Tibor Hevesi PhD
Hungarian Equine Rehabilitation and Health Service Ltd.

FITNESS IMPROVEMENT OF SHOW JUMPERS BY HIGH
INTENSITY AQUA TREADMILL AND FEEDING STRATEGY

Written By:

ANIKÓ VINCZE

KAPOSVÁR

2016
Table of contents
ABBREVIATIONS ................................................................................... 4
1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................ 5
2. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE .................................................... 8
2.1. Muscle fiber types and energy systems ........................................ 8
2.1.1. The main energy sources ........................................................ 10
2.2. Performance tests ........................................................................ 13
2.2.1. Treadmill tests ........................................................................ 15
2.2.2. Field tests (track tests) ............................................................ 17
2.3. Assessment of the physical fitness by blood plasma biochemical
parameters ................................................................................... 18
2.3.1. Lactate .................................................................................... 19
2.3.2. Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH)................................................ 23
2.3.3. Creatine kinase (CK) .............................................................. 25
2.3.4. Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) ......................................... 27
2.3.5. Glucose ................................................................................... 30
2.3.6. Triglyceride ............................................................................ 31
2.3.7. Cholesterol .............................................................................. 34
2.3.8. Cortisol ................................................................................... 35
2.3.9. Bilirubin .................................................................................. 36
2.4. Conclusions from the literature.................................................. 37
3. OBJECTIVES OF THE DISSERTATION ...................................... 38
4. MATERIAL AND METHODS ......................................................... 39
4.1. Experiment 1 ................................................................................ 39
4.1.1. Experimental animals ............................................................. 39
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4.1.2. Blood sampling ....................................................................... 39
4.1.3. Laboratory analysis ................................................................ 39
4.1.4. Statistical analysis .................................................................. 40
4.2. Experiment 2 ................................................................................ 40
4.2.1. Experimental animals ............................................................. 40
4.2.2. Training program .................................................................... 41
4.2.2.1. Aqua treadmill ................................................................. 42
4.2.2.1.1. Technical data ........................................................... 42
4.2.2.1.2. Construction ............................................................. 42
4.2.2.1.3. Training program of deep water aqua treadmill ....... 44
4.2.3. Blood sampling ....................................................................... 46
4.2.4. Laboratory analysis ................................................................ 47
4.2.5. Statistical analysis .................................................................. 47
4.3. Experiment 3 ................................................................................ 48
4.3.1. Experimental animals ............................................................. 48
4.3.2. Treatments .............................................................................. 48
4.3.3. Training program .................................................................... 50
4.3.4. Blood sampling ....................................................................... 50
4.3.5. Laboratory analysis ................................................................ 51
4.3.6. Statistical analysis .................................................................. 51
5. RESULT AND DISCUSSION ........................................................... 52
5.1. Effect of age and event on post exercise values of blood
biochemical parameters in show jumping horses (experiment
1) ................................................................................................... 52
5.2. The effect of workload type and baseline covariate on the
response of plasma biochemical parameters in show jumpers
(experiment 2) ............................................................................. 58
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5.3. Effect of deep water aqua treadmill training intensity on
plasma biochemical parameters of show jumpers (experiment
2) ................................................................................................... 64
5.3.1. Aqua training .......................................................................... 64
5.3.2. Competition ............................................................................ 68
5.3.3. Correlation between plasma parameters during aqua training
and after competition ............................................................. 72
5.4. Effect of dietary energy source on the plasma parameters of
equine athletes trained in a deep water aqua treadmill
(experiment 3) ............................................................................. 79
6. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ........................... 88
7. NEW SCIENTIFIC RESULTS ......................................................... 90
8. SUMMARY ......................................................................................... 91
9. ÖSSZEFOGLALÁS ........................................................................... 98
10. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................... 105
11. REFERENCES ............................................................................... 106
12. PUBLICATIONS DERIVED FROM THE THESIS .................. 133
12.1. Papers in scientific journals .................................................... 133
12.2. Full conference papers in proceedings .................................. 134
12.3. Submitted manuscripts ........................................................... 134
13. OTHER PUBLICATION .............................................................. 135
13.1. Full conference papers in proceedings .................................. 135
14. CURRICULUM VITAE ................................................................ 136

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ABBREVIATIONS

ADP Adenosine diphosphate
ALT Alanine transaminase
AST Aspartate Aminotransferase
ATP Adenosine triphosphate
CK Creatine kinase
CORR Procedure to analyse correlation in SAS
(SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, USA)
statistical software
DE Digestible energy
FFA Free fatty acid
GLM General linear model
HDL High-density lipoproteins
IDL Intermediate-density lipoproteins
LDH Lactate dehydrogenase
LDL Low-density lipoproteins
NAD Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide
NADP Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide
phosphate
NEFA Non-esterified fatty acids
NRC National Research Council
PCr Phosphocreatine
RBC Red blood cell
V ,V ,V Velocity at which plasma lactate
LA1.5 LA2 LA4
concentration reached 1.5, 2 and 4 mmol/L
VFA Volatile fatty acid
VLDL Very-low-density lipoproteins
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1. INTRODUCTION

Equine athletes need training to achieve good performance in a similar
way than Humans. The literature of equine athletes is relative abundant on
data about Thoroughbreds, endurance and eventing horses. However only
a few field tests can be found with show jumpers competing on lower
levels (Covalesky et al., 1992; Sloet van Oldruitenborgh-Oosterbaan et
al., 2006; Soares et al., 2011), and more experienced horses competing in
130-150 cm high classes (Art et al., 1990a,b; Covalesky et al., 1992).
The idea of blood-based assessment of training effects, condition
alterations and performance is certainly not new. Post-exercise blood
lactate concentration is the most widely used indicator of horse fitness
(Couroucé, 1999). Standard exercise tests provide the possibility of to run
the horse under controlled conditions; however data collected from a
treadmill test do not reflect the horse’s response to a sport event. Horses
are generally exercised on an open field or indoor, being exposed to
numerous other factors such as the rider, other horses, weather, spectators,
decorations, terrain, etc. (Serrano et al., 2001). Plasma lactate
concentrations in Standardbred horses pulling a 10 kilopond draught load
were lower on the treadmill than on the racetrack (Gottlieb-Vedi and
Lindholm, 1997) and blood lactate in trotters were lower during exercise
on a level treadmill than during exercise on a racetrack (Couroucé et al.,
1999). In sport horses it has been also found that blood lactate
concentrations were lower on the level treadmill compared with exercise
over ground (Sloet van Oldruitenborgh-Oosterbaan and Barneveld, 1995).
Therefore, testing the biochemical and physiological changes during field
training or competition is important.
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Hinchcliff et al. (2002) showed that the anaerobic capacity of horses
could be increased by an appropriate conditioning program including
regular and high intensity training. However, the regular high intensity
conventional training may result in a large percentage of retirement from
the training program due to injuries (Eto et al., 2004). The training in
water was first applied in the rehabilitation of human athletes. The
exercise of horses in water to improve fitness is not new, but recently
there has been a development in the possible use of aqua treadmill for
horses. Several studies had been performed with aqua treadmill (Lindner
et al., 2010, 2012; Hevesi et al., 2009; Nankervis et al., 2008; Voss et al.,
2002) to test its effect on metabolism using mainly heart rate and lactate
as indicative variables. However, little information is available on the
changes of other blood parameters.
Effect of training develops qualitative and quantitative changes in the
blood, which means adaptation to the increased performance. Thus the
relationship between blood biochemical parameters before and after
exercise or competition can be important. However, few studies can be
found in the literature that examine the correlation between blood
parameters in endurance horses (Rose, 1986), Thoroughbred horse (Davie
and Evans, 2000) and Italian Standardbred (Tateo et al., 2008).
A proper energy supply has a primary importance for the equine athlete
(Pagan, 1998). The source of energy has an influence on health,
metabolism and sport performance (Harris, 2009). Therefore, the
preference of energy sources depends on the type, intensity and length of
the workload. Several publications demonstrate the effect of
carbohydrates and fats as energy sources on various blood parameters in
horses (Pagan and Jackson, 1995; Pagan et al., 1995; Spangfors, 1998;
O’Connor et al., 2001; Treiber et al., 2008). The daily rations of equine
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athletes should include a mixture of energy sources (starch, fat, fibre) in a
balance (Pagan, 1998). Any extreme conditions in feeding (e.g.
unbalanced energy supply) should be avoided. The cooling effect of water
markedly alters the metabolic response of horses to aqua training was
measured by various plasma biochemical parameters (Hevesi et al., 2009;
Lindner et al., 2012). Thus, it can be hypothesised that the response of
plasma biochemical parameters are altered by different dietary energy
sources when deep water exercise is part of the training program.

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2. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

2.1. Muscle fiber types and energy systems
Muscle fibers are usually grouped as Type I, Type IIA, and Type IIX
(Rivero et al., 1999). Interconversions between Type IIA and IIX (IIAX)
are well recognized in the literature and it exist in equine locomotory
muscles in significant numbers (Dingboom et al., 1999; Linanne et al.,
1999). Type I (slow twitch, slow-oxidative) fibers are highly oxidative,
meaning they use aerobic metabolism to produce energy-generating ATP
(slow ATP hydrolyzes) and are well equipped to use fat as a substrate.
These fibers have a small cross-sectional area, a high number of
capillaries and high oxidative capacity but their glycolytic capacity and
glycogen content are relatively low. Type I fibers are highly efficient and
economical in producing slow repetitive movements and sustaining
isometric force that do not require great force generation. Type II fibers
(fast twitch, fast-oxidative glycolytic) are subdivided into Type IIA (both
high and low oxidative) and Type IIX (low oxidative, fast glycolytic)
fibers. The type IIA fibers have a considerable number of both capillaries
and mitochondria and rely on glycolytic and oxidative metabolism. These
fibers capable of utilizing both aerobic and anaerobic metabolism to
produce energy for work and it used to maintain high speed or jumping.
Type IIX fibers are used to give the horse speed and it have a maximal
velocity of shortening that is three times higher than that of IIA fibers
(Rome et al., 1990) and it typically extract energy from anaerobic
glycolysis. Type II fibers, particularly the type IIX fibers, are more suited
to rapid contraction and high force generation and thus must be used
during speed or strength work (Yamano et al., 2006). Type IIX fibers are
highly glycolytic and, thus, prefer carbohydrate as an energy source over
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