The public is increasingly questioning equestrianism’s social license to operate. While the focus historically centered on horseracing, increased scrutiny is now being placed on how dressage, showjumping, and eventing are addressing equine management and welfare concerns. Nominated equestrian federation and equestrian organization experts (n = 104) directly involved in international and/or national-level horse sports took part in a four-stage, iterative Delphi to obtain consensus on what factors should be considered essential to manage sporthorse health and welfare. Five core domains were agreed as essential: training management, competition management, young horse management, health status and veterinary management, and the horse–human relationship. Two further domains: stable and environmental management, and welfare assessment were rated as important but not essential, as most respondents felt that these areas were already managed well. Participants felt increased education and guidance combined with further policy development and regulation are needed to support stakeholders to optimize sporthorse management. An appetite to engage with research to generate evidence that promotes sporthorse welfare was evident. The development of a sporthorse welfare charter and evidence-based guidelines to inform the management and monitoring of sporthorses’ health and welfare are recommended to provide horses with a good life and to safeguard the future of equestrian sports.

Horses competing in cross-country tests are subjected to high physical demands. Within the scope of this prospective longitudinal study, blood values of 20 elite eventing horses were examined before and after two- to four-star cross-country rides. The aim was to find out whether blood-based markers for skeletal muscle and cardiac muscle function change after cross-country exercise. Parameters that provide information about fluid balance, muscle enzymes, metabolites and cardiac muscle-specific markers were investigated. We developed an approach to eliminate the concentration changes caused by reduced plasma volume. Parameters were measured pre, 10 and 30 min post exercise and the next morning and were evaluated using a mixed model. Thirty minutes after exercise, most parameter concentrations changed in an exercise-dependent manner. The next morning, most exercise-related markers recovered rapidly, while creatine kinase (CK) (26% increase; p = 0.008) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) (15% increase; p < 0.001) showed a declining but sustained increase. Cardiac troponin I (cTnI) increased above the reference range in 40 of the 55 rides (73%) and in 18 of 20 horses in the morning after exercise.

Show jumping is a highly specialized equestrian discipline that requires technical skill but also power and fitness. Monitoring the horses’ aerobic performance is therefore essential in order to verify whether the training has induced the desired cardiovascular and muscular adaptations. This study therefore aimed at evaluating the validity of non-specific and discipline-specific field exercise tests for objective evaluation of aerobic performance in show jumpers. For this purpose, data obtained from horses competing at Junior and Young Rider level during show jumping competitions as well as field exercise tests were retrospectively analyzed. The effect of the level of difficulty, the horses’ age, the penalty score and the horses’ previous level of performance on blood lactate concentrations after show jumping competitions (100 observations in 49 horses) was evaluated by linear mixed effects models (horse as random effect). Estimated marginal means significantly increased from 140 (4.1 mmol/L) to 150 cm (5.2 mmol/L) classes (P= 0.02). Furthermore, post-exercise lactate values significantly increased with the horses’ age (P= 0.001). Another group of 12 horses performed a standardized incremental field exercise test on a track (SET_track), a standardized show jumping course (SET_course) and a standardized grid exercise (SET_grid) each on three consecutive days. Indices of aerobic performance, derived from the SET_track[velocity at a heart rate of 140 bpm (V₁₄₀) and at a lactate concentration of 2 mmol/L (V_La2)] were highly correlated with heart rate (V₁₄₀: r = −0.75,P= 0.005; V_La2: r =−0.66,P= 0.02) and lactate (V₁₄₀: r = −0.73,P= 0.02; V_La2: r = −0.72,P= 0.02) in response to SET_courseas well as heart rate during SET_grid(V₁₄₀: r = −0.73,P= 0.02; V_La2: r = −0.76,P= 0.01). Subjective rating of muscular fatigue was significantly correlated to the mean heart rate during SET_course(r = −0.64,P= 0.05) and SET_grid(r = −0.74,P= 0.02) but not to the aerobic indices calculated from SET_track. Besides non-specific incremental field tests, performance monitoring in show jumpers should therefore also include discipline-specific tests that more closely reflect the internal load induced by show jumping competitions.

Background Early recognition and management of acid‐base, fluid, and electrolyte disorders are crucial for the maintenance of health and performance in equine athletes. Objectives To analyze changes in acid‐base and electrolyte status associated with exercise during cross‐country competitions at different levels using traditional and quantitative approaches. Animals Thirty‐eight eventing horses. Methods Prospective observational study. Jugular venous blood samples were collected before and after the cross‐country test of 25 international eventing competitions ranging from 2‐star (formerly 1‐star) to 5‐star (formerly 4‐star) level. Blood gas analysis was performed to determine pH, pCO₂, Na⁺, Cl⁻, and K⁺ and calculate HCO₃⁻, tCO₂ base excess (BE_ECF), anion gap (AG), strong ion difference calculated from Na⁺, K⁺, Cl⁻, and lactate⁻ (SID₄), strong ion difference calculated from Na⁺, K⁺, and Cl⁻ (SID₃), strong ion gap (SIG), and total nonvolatile weak buffer concentration (A_tot). Postexercise acid‐base imbalances, diagnosed on the basis of the traditional approach, and the simplified strong ion model were compared. Results Significant decreases in pH, Cl⁻, SID₄, pCO₂, HCO₃⁻, tCO₂, and BE_ECF as well as increases in K⁺, SID₃, AG, TP, and A_tot were observed between pre‐ and postexercise samples. The changes in acid‐base parameters were significantly affected by the competition level. Using the strong ion approach, a higher proportion of horses was diagnosed with postexercise metabolic acidosis. Conclusions and Clinical Importance Regarding the complex acid‐base changes in horses competing at cross‐country competitions, the quantitative approach provided a more detailed analysis of the different factors contributing to acid‐base balance than did the traditional approach.

Background: After submaximal exercise, blood values of eventing horses show physiological reactions.Objectives: This prospective longitudinal study investigated blood parameters in 20 elite eventing horses before and after two–four‐star cross‐country rides.Methods: Using a mixed model adjusting for plasma volume shift, we assessed exercise‐dependent parameters and compared blood values with reference ranges for healthy horses at rest.Results: Following exercise, cortisol, triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine (T4) showed short‐term increases, and superoxide‐dismutase showed a small short‐term increase. Hepatic values showed short‐term (haemoglobin [HGB], globulins) or sustained increases (bilirubin, glutamate dehydrogenase, alanine aminotransferase). Digestion‐related parameters showed small short‐term increases (α‐amylase, triglycerides) or decreases (cholesterol, DGGR‐lipase), apparent through plasma shift adjustment. Zinc decreased in the short term, and iron showed a delayed decrease. White blood cell count increased persistently after training, whereas serum amyloid A remained unchanged.Conclusions: Exercised eventing horses had consistently elevated HGB and cortisol levels 10 and 30 min after submaximal exercise, exceeding the reference ranges for healthy horses at rest. Exercise activates the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenocortical and hypothalamic–pituitary–thyroid axes. Antioxidant activity was observed. Increased energy requirements led to the mobilization of energy reserves, and a sustained increase in liver enzymes indicated hepatocellular injury. Mild haemolysis suggested increased muscle metabolism, whereas signs of inflammation were subtle. Further research is needed to identify which horses deviate from mean values.

Objective performance monitoring in eventing horses is rare as the implementation of standardised exercise tests is commonly perceived to interfere with the daily training routine. The validity of performance parameters derived from GPS data, heart rate (HR) and post exercise blood lactate concentration (LAC) measured during usual training sessions should therefore be evaluated. Velocity (V), HR and post exercise LAC recorded during 172 interval training sessions in 30 horses were retrospectively analysed. Linear regression of HR, averaged over retrospectively defined speed ranges, was used to calculate the V at HRs of 150 (V₁₅₀) and 200 (V₂₀₀) beats/min. A single exponential regression model, fitted to LAC in relation to HR values from the whole group of horses, was used to predict LAC for each horse’s individual HR value and to calculate the difference between measured and predicted LAC (LAC_diff). Recovery HRs were derived from bi-exponential regression of HR decrease after exercise. Results were compared between different stages of training in the same horses and between horses categorised as superior (SP) and average performer (AP) according to their competition performance. V₁₅₀ and V₂₀₀ significantly increased with progressing training. SP had higher V₁₅₀ and V₂₀₀ values, lower LAC_diff values and lower HRs after 1 min of recovery (HRR_60s) than AP. Competition performance was positively correlated to V₁₅₀ and V₂₀₀ but negatively correlated to LAC_diff and HRR_60s. Regular monitoring of HR and LAC in response to interval training provided valuable indicators of performance. The results of this study may contribute to an increased applicability of routine performance monitoring in eventing horses.