Evaluative indices of the Mongolian racehorse exercises

Abstract

A racehorse's V200 (Velocity at Heart Rate 200 bpm) is the speed at which the heart rate reaches 200 bpm during exercise, and this parameter defines the maximum level of physical load aerobic energy supply of skeletal muscles. Researchers have found that the higher this metric, its exercise more appropriate, and the more likely it is to succeed without injury and overcome the stress of competition. THR100 (Time Heart Rate 100 bpm) is the time it takes for its heart rate to drop below 100 bpm after a race. It shows the anaerobic energy supplies that can be accumulated during the race, with low values meaning the exercise was maximal and muscle cells switched to aerobic training mode. Mongolian racehorses compete in the biggest competition as "Naadam" after intensive training for about 1 month from June of every year. During this exercise, we measured the V200, THR100, maximum speed, maximum heart rate of 16 horses over 5 years old, the general hematological parameters of 19 horses at the beginning and end of the exercise, and the decrease in blood lactate concentration after the race was measured at 0, 15, and 30 min after crossing the finish line. They had an average V200 of 46.2 km/h, a peak heart rate of 234, and an average THR100 of 11.8 min. At the end of training period, hematocrit increased by 5.3%, the percentage of leukocytes in total granulocytes increased by 8.8%. Post-race blood lactate concentrations from the beginning and end of the exercise period decreased from 21.4 to 16.2 mmol/L at 0 min, from 17.5 to 10.4 mmol/L at 15 min, and from 12.7 to 4.5 mmol/L at 30 min. It has been observed that the intensity of this decrease will continue to increase.