Workload in eventing horses in New Zealand

Abstract

Eventing is a sport where the horse’s fitness is tested to the limit, especially at elite level. In order to get a horse fit, management and training should be accurate. Training prepares the equine athlete to compete effectively and safely. In addition, it has been shown that good fitness decreases injury chances. However, the knowledge about accurate training and management of eventing horses is minimal. The aim of this study was to gain more knowledge about management, training strategy and workload of New Zealand eventing competition horses. The hypothesis of this study was that heart rate reflects the workload of eventing horses. Another hypothesis was that the management regime of eventing horses competing at a higher level (CNC105) was better structured compared to eventing horses trained at a lower level (<CNC105). Five horses were selected. Heart rate was recorded during various training moments. A survey was developed in order to obtain more knowledge about management and training of the horses. Results showed a significant relation (P=0.023) in cross country between average heart rate in zone 4 compared to the relative workload from the whole cross country. Furthermore, a significant difference (P=0.035) was found for the minutes spent per dressage training session. Horses competing at CNC<105 level spent more minutes per dressage training session than horses competing at CNC105 level. Our study showed that relative workload could be a good indicator of training intensity in eventing horses. In addition, no difference was found in training and management regime by horses competing at a higher level eventing compared to a lower level. We conclude that relative workload could be a good indicator for training intensity. However, more research is necessary to obtain more knowledge about current practices in training eventing horses and the effects thereof to further improve the training strategies for eventing competition horses in an evidence-based way.