Influence of Horse and Rider on Stress during Horse-riding Lesson Program.

The present study aims to confirm the influence of a horse-riding lesson program (HRLP) on the stress level of horses and riders by respectively analyzing their salivary cortisol concentration. Twenty-four healthy horses and 23 riders participated in this study. The horses were randomly classified into two groups for the horse riding lesson program: Class 1 (for the beginner lesson) and Class 2 (for the intermediate lesson). The Class 1 group consisted of 12 horses and 12 riders, while the Class 2 group consisted of 12 horses and 11 riders. Salivettes cotton wool swabs were used for saliva collection and the saliva analyses were conducted using a two-way analysis of variance for repeated measures with SAS version 8. As for the results, the average salivary cortisol concentration of all horses before HRLP significantly increased compared to the baseline (p<0.001) while it decreased after the HRLP. The results of the salivary cortisol concentration of the riders were similar to the horses' results. However, there was no difference during the HRLP between Class 1 and Class 2 in the horse or rider groups. The results suggest that the HRLP did not influence the stress level of the horses or riders. Thus, this study provides the necessary information and guidelines for future studies on stress in horses during riding and gives insight into better horse welfare and management options.

Changes in Salivary Cortisol Concentration in Horses during Different Types of Exercise.

This study aimed to estimate the change of stress level in horses based on cortisol concentration levels in their saliva. A total of 61 horses were divided into the following three groups: i) tourist riding experience (TR, n = 23); ii) resting group (RR, n = 14); and iii) horse-riding education (ER, n = 24). The saliva samples of TR and ER groups were taken using plain cotton Salivettes four times a day: at 07:00 (basal), 11:00 (Exercise 1, after 1-hour exercise in the morning), 14:00 (Exercise 2, after 1-hour exercise in the afternoon), and 16:00 (Exercise 3, after 1-hour exercise in the afternoon). The saliva samples of RR were measured at the same time. The samples were analyzed using the SAS program general linear model procedure. In a percentage relative to the base value, cortisol levels in Exercise 3 were confirmed to decrease in all groups as compared to the basal value percentage in the following sequence: ER>TR>RR. The highest peak was confirmed in Exercise 2 (approximately 131%) of RR group and the lowest peak appeared in Exercise 3 (approximately 52%) of ER group. Therefore, resting without any particular exercise can also increase the stress level of horses. Thus, it is better to exercise, as exercise can reduce the stress level, even in cases when riders are clumsy or lack appropriate horse-riding experience. The results of the present study are useful to equestrian center owners and educational riding instructors in that they provide a meaningful insight into a better horse management.

Physiological changes in jeju crossbred riding horses by swim training.

The changes in physiologic parameters by swim exercise duration were examined in five female well-trained Jeju crossbred riding horses that had riding experience of more than three years without swim training experience. The horses were performed with swim exercise for 10 min (60.0 m/min) once a day for 14 days. Physiologic characteristics and haematic parameters were measured before swimming, immediately after swimming, and after a 10 min rest at first day (D0), 7 days (D7), and 14 days (D14) of training. After 14 days of swim training, heart rate (p<0.05), blood glucose (p<0.05), lactate concentration (p<0.001), packed cell volume (p<0.01), and hemoglobin (p<0.01) measured immediately after swim and after 10 min rest showed significant lower values than those of D0. The results illustrate the benefits of swim training for riding horses and the need for the establishment of swimming routines of appropriate duration and intensity to maximize the advantages of swim training.

Effects of therapeutic horse-riding program on the walking ability of students with intellectual disabilities.

The purpose of this study was to determine if an 8-week therapeutic riding (TR) program was effective in improving the walking ability of students with intellectual disabilities. Thirteen students diagnosed with intellectual disabilities participated in the TR program. TR sessions were conducted twice a week (30 min per session), with a total of 16 rides taking place over an 8-week period. A gait measurement analyzer was used to measure progress based on a turn test (6-m walking and turning test), walk test (10-m walking), and timed up and go (TUG) test. Measurements were made three times: before horse-riding (P0), after 4 weeks (8 rides) of horse-riding (P1), and after 8 weeks (16 rides) of horse-riding (P2). Data analysis was conducted using SPSS software (ver. 22.0). Descriptive statistics were generated on the general characteristics of the subjects, and the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was used to verify the normality of the data. Because of the lack of normality, the data were analyzed using a nonparametric method and the significance level was set to 0.05. Measurements of the duration of the forward gait cycle (s) in the turn test and the forward gait speed (m/s) in the walk test indicated improved walking ability after the TR program (p < 0.001); the stride length (% height) also increased significantly (p < 0.05). The walk test revealed a significant effect of the program on the duration of the forward gait cycle (p < 0.05), while there were significant improvements on the left and right of the elaborated strides (p < 0.001). No significant improvement in TUG test performance was observed after the TR program. In this study, an 8-week TR program had positive results on gait. Therefore, further research is merited, where TR programs are likely to improve the walking ability of individuals with intellectual disabilities.

Effects of Sociality Level on Companion Dog Training through Food Reinforcement.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of sociality level in dogs using food reinforcement. The companion dogs living mostly inside (IS) and those living mostly outside (OS) groups were further classified into high sociality (HS) and low sociality (LS) groups using a social test. The data were analyzed by observing videos of the dogs and recording nine categories of sociality. Passive; activity; and communication tasks were measured in terms of the time the dog first contacted the trainer; the time it took for the dog to approach within 1 m of the trainer, and the time the dog remained in contact. The IS and OS groups showed no significant differences in any category; except for close to trainer within 1 m of the active phase. However, in a comparison between the overall HS and LS groups; significant positive changes were observed in all items except for the first contact time to the trainer of the passive and active phase. This is an important result of the sociality level; as positive results can be predicted not only in a dog's ability to adapt to the environment but also in the communication and training exchanges between dogs and humans.

Effect of age on heart rate, blood lactate concentration, packed cell volume and hemoglobin to exercise in Jeju crossbreed horses.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to analyze the on heart rate, blood lactate concentration, packed cell volume (PCV) and hemoglobin (Hb) response after conducting exercise in endurance horses. METHODS: A total of 20 healthy 3-9-years-old Jeju crossbreed mares (5.95 ± 2.24 year) of age and 312.65 ± 13.59 kg of weight) currently participating the endurance competition were used. The field tests selected for the experiment was gallop (approximately 8.3 m/s) along the selected 2.5 km course (a natural forest trail, not artificial road; a closed loop course). The horses were divided into three groups according to their age; 3-4 years of age (G1, 3.29 ± 0.49 year), 6-7 years of age (G2, 6.42 ± 0.53), and 8-9 years of age (G3, 8.50 ± 0.55). The measurements times for the heart rate, blood lactate concentration, PCV, and Hb analysis were conducted before exercise (T0), shortly after exercise (T1), 15 min after exercise (T2), and 30 min after exercise (T3), respectively. Data was analyzed using an analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) for repeated measures with times and groups. RESULTS: The results of the comparison depending on the passage of rest time after exercise suggest that the heart rate and blood lactate concentration of three groups at T2 significantly decreased compared to T1 (p < 0.001). PCV of the G2 and G3 groups were significantly decreased at T2 compared to T1 (p < 0.01). Hb values at G2 (p < 0.01) and G3 (p < 0.001) groups were significantly decreased at T2 as compared to T1. However, heart rate, blood lactate concentration, PCV and Hb level at T1 showed no difference in the comparison of horses from different age groups with the exception of G3 group in terms of heart rate. CONCLUSION: The physiologic and hematological responses of horses during recovery time after 2,500 m exercise with gallop were no significant difference among the groups. These data are useful as a response evaluation method for training of endurance horses.

Comparative analyses of rider position according to skill levels during walk and trot in Jeju horse.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the rider position at walk and trot as a function of rider skill level by analyzing joint angles. Participants included three advanced riders and six beginners, and training was conducted for one hour, twice a week for 24 weeks. In the walk stage of the beginners' group, the elbows and shoulders sustained postures comparable to those of the advanced riders group; the trunk tilted forwards at first, but later it tilted slightly behind the vertical. The knee, ankle, and left-right angle kept stable postures after 12 weeks of training (p<.05). The front-rear (FR) angle of the beginners group improved during training, but it was still lower than the advanced riders group after 24 weeks of training (p<.05). At trot, while the knee angle measurement of the beginners' group was similar to the advanced riders, the ankle joint sustained a forward point posture. The ankle joint maintained dorsiflexion posture with 83.9°±5.3 in the advanced riders group, while the beginners group had plantar flexion posture with 98.7°±6.0. This study suggested that the correlation between the joint and body segment angles could be an important indicator in the evaluation of rider proficiency.