Stride-to-stride variability and fluctuations at intensities around maximal lactate steady state in horses.

• Grant number: 24/23671-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: October 01, 2025
• End date: July 31, 2027
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Veterinary Medicine - Animal Clinics and Surgery
• Principal Investigator: Guilherme de Camargo Ferraz
• Grantee: Helen Scarafici
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias (FCAV). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Jaboticabal. Jaboticabal , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Horse welfare in competitive equestrian sports is under increasing public scrutiny. Fatigue and musculoskeletal injuries are common reasons for high-performance athletic horses to be withdrawn from the sport. Ensuring horse and rider safety is crucial, and early fatigue diagnosis is vital. Exercise load can induce neuromuscular fatigue (NMF) and athletic performance. There is a lack of research on whether narrow changes in speed, below or above the maximal lactate steady state (MLSS), impact FNM and subsequent performance in horses. Gait variability (VA) is extensively studied in humans in relation to fatigue and injury. However, few studies have examined the relationship between VA and MLSS in horses. MLSS is a gold standard indicator of aerobic fitness, representing the highest intensity at which plasma L-lactate concentration remains constant and energy demand is adequately met by oxidative phosphorylation. This project aims to use new-generation wireless inertial measurement units (IMUs) for objective gait analysis to investigate the relationship between MLSS and VA in Arabian horses.