Conditioning Horses at v10 3 Times per Week Does Not Enhance v4

This study examined the effect of exercising horses 3 times per week with two bouts of 5-minutes' duration at their v10. Six Thoroughbreds were treadmill-conditioned for 6 weeks. A standardized exercise test (SET) was performed at the beginning of the conditioning period to determine the blood lactate–running speed (BLRS) relation, and the SET was repeated every 2 weeks. After each SET, the BLRS relation was used to calculate the horse's speed, which produced a blood lactate (LA) concentration of 10 mmol/L (v10) and 4 mmol/L (v4). Each horse was then conditioned for the next 2 weeks (3 times/week) at its individual v10 for two 5-minute bouts with a 5-minute walking phase in between. Exercise speed was individually adapted to the new v10 every 2 weeks. The v4 of horses decreased after the first 2 weeks (from 6.23 ± 0.41 m/s to 5.95 ± 0.33 m/s, mean ± SD; P < .05), increased in the following 2 weeks (6.33 ± 0.58 m/s; P < .01), and stayed constant thereafter (P > .05). The conclusion drawn was that exercising horses 3 times per week at their v10 for two 5-minute bouts did not improve v4.