Exercise-induced changes in skin temperature and blood parameters in horses

Abstract

The aim of the study was to assess the effects of training on haematological and biochemical blood parameters as well as on the changes in body surface temperature in horses. In order to identify the predictive value of surface temperature measurements as a marker of animal's performance, their correlations with blood parameters were investigated. The study was carried out on nine horses divided into two groups: routinely ridden and never ridden. Infrared thermography was used to assess surface temperature changes before (BT) and just after training (JAT) on a treadmill. Seven regions of interest (ROIs) located on the neck, shoulder, elbow, back, chest, gluteus and quarter were analysed. The blood samples were taken BT, JAT and 30 min after training (30AT). Haematological parameters including white blood cells, lymphocytes (LYMs), monocytes (MONOs), granulocytes (GRAs), eosinophils (EOSs), haematocrit (HCT) and platelets (PLTs) as well as biochemical parameters such as glucose (GLUC), urea, ${\mathrm{Na}}^{+}$ , $K^{+}$ and ${\mathrm{Ca}}^{2+}$ , and creatine phosphokinase (CPK) were analysed. Our results indicated a significant increase in surface temperature JAT ( $p=0.043$ ) in the neck, shoulder, elbow, gluteus and quarter in routinely ridden horses. Significant changes in EOS ( $p=0.046$ ) and HCT ( $p=0.043$ ) in the case of the never-ridden and routinely ridden group, respectively, were found between the times of blood collection. In addition, there was a significant effect of the horse group and the time of blood collection on the CPK activity ( $p=0.025$ to $p=0.045$ ) and urea concentrations ( $p=0.027$ to $p=0.045$ ). In the routinely ridden horses, there were significant correlations between the changes in MONO ( $\rho =0.40$ ), GRA ( $\rho =-0.40$ ), PLT ( $\rho =-0.77$ ), HCT ( $\rho =-0.36$ ), GLUC ( $\rho =0.56$ ) and urea ( $\rho =0.56$ ) and the total ROI temperature changes. Moreover, significant correlations between the changes in MONO ( $\rho =-0.86)$ , EOS ( $\rho =-0.65$ ), GLUC ( $\rho =0.85$ ), urea ( $\rho =0.85$ ), ${\mathrm{Na}}^{+}$ ( $\rho =0.59$ ) and $K^{+}$ ( $\rho =-0.85$ ) and the total ROI temperature changes were found in never-ridden horses. Different changes in body surface temperature and blood parameters in routinely ridden and never-ridden horses could be associated with different conditioning and performance. A significantly higher surface temperature in routinely ridden horses, as well as the dynamics of changes in HCT, CPK and urea after training indicate better performance of these horses. Significant correlations between MONO, GLUC, and urea and a total ROI surface temperature as well as a negative correlation between MONO and the total ROI temperature in never-ridden horses indicated poor performance.

Figure 1

Example thermographic image of the left side of the horse before exercises on the treadmill with the seven regions of interest (ROIs) shown: neck (RO1), shoulder (ROI2), elbow (ROI3), back (ROI4), chest (ROI5), gluteus (ROI6), quarter (ROI7).