Changes Induced by Exercise and Physical Training on Serum Biochemical Parameters in Arabian Horses after 15 kilometer running in a hot and dry climate

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

Farshid Khadivar

Mahdieh Zaeemi

Kamran Sardari

Mehrdad Mohri

Department of Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran.

10.22067/ijvst.2025.93399.1521

Abstract

This study examines exercise-induced changes in serum biochemical parameters including calcium, phosphorus, sodium, potassium, chloride, magnesium, glucose, urea, creatinine, triglycerides, cholesterol, total protein, albumin, and total bilirubin, as well as serum enzyme activities such as creatine phosphokinase (CPK), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) in 22 Arabian horses aged 3 to 7 years. Blood samples were collected from the jugular vein one hour before (T0), immediately after (T1), six hours after (T2), and eighteen hours after (T3) a warm-up followed by maximum effort running over a 15-kilometer course. The obtained data were analyzed using one-way repeated measures ANOVA. For pairwise comparisons between measured values at each time point and baseline (T0), the Bonferroni corrected test was used. In all statistical comparisons, a p-value of <0.05 was considered significant. The results showed that the serum concentrations of urea, creatinine, triglycerides, calcium, phosphorus, and total bilirubin exhibited significant changes over time (p < 0.05). The results show that the mean concentrations of glucose, triglycerides, cholesterol, urea, phosphorus, sodium, chloride, and the serum activities of ALT, AST, and LDH (higher in mares), and magnesium (higher in stallions) were significantly different between sex (p < 0.05). Moreover, the results indicate that the mean concentrations of total protein and the mean serum activities of ALT, AST, ALP, GGT, and CPK were significantly different between age groups (p < 0.05).

Keywords

Arabian Horses

Biochemical parameters

Dry climate

Performance

Physical training

Subjects

• Clinical pathology

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