EFFECTS OF TRAINING ON LACTATEMIA, BIOMECHANICS, AND MUSCLE ACTIVATION IN EQUINES

• Grant number: 24/21233-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: September 01, 2025
• End date: February 28, 2029
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Veterinary Medicine - Animal Clinics and Surgery
• Principal Investigator: José Corrêa de Lacerda Neto
• Grantee: Angélica Cristina Titotto
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias (FCAV). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Jaboticabal. Jaboticabal , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Numerous techniques have been developed to evaluate, prescribe, and monitorequine training, among which lactatemia determination stands out. However, newmonitoring methods are being utilized, offering the advantage of continuous, noninvasive monitoring during exercise. Some of these methods include surfaceelectromyography (sEMG), acoustic myography (AMG), and kinematics. Therefore, theprimary objective of this project is to study the ability of these methods to assessperformance and detect signs of muscle fatigue during an incremental exercise test (IET)in horses, both before and after training. Sixteen healthy, untrained horses will be used,undergoing three IETs to determine the speeds at which venous lactate reaches 2, 4, and6 mM: one test before training, one after six weeks, and the final test at the end of theprotocol. The training program will last 12 weeks, guided by Vlac2 (speed at which lactatereaches 2 mM). During all exercise tests, kinematics will be conducted to determine strideduration and length, joint angles at maximum protraction and retraction, and hoof flighttime. EMGs will measure the average rectified value (ARV) and peak sEMG values,while AMG will assess parameters of efficiency (E), spatial amplitude (S), temporalsummation (T), and their balance scores. The results will be analyzed statistically andpresented in tables and figures (AU)