Conditioning Endurance Horses at Altitude

Many of the rides I go to are at a lower elevation than where I live. I’m at around 5,000′ and when I ride from home I am always going up higher in elevation. The mountains around here all around us go up to higher than 9,000′ so if I want to I can get in a good deal of high altitude training with my horses.

There has been a fair amount of research done on this topic. Below are a couple of studies that are very educational. I find this topic fascinating because I am always interested in learning what else can I do with my horses to help them do better when competing in endurance rides. In addition to improving their performance I am always interested in learning how I can help them speed up their recovery post-ride.

Basically what this research is telling us is this:  Following high altitude acclimatization heart rate recovery post-exercise and lactate recovery were significantly faster, demonstrating improved aerobic performance at lower elevations.

Has anybody been able to tell a difference or change in their horses when riding, competing or conditioning at altitude versus being at sea level or a lower elevation? What about the reverse – can you tell if your horse has a harder time competing in rides that are at a higher altitude than you live and train in?

Vol. 279, Issue 4, R1176-R1181, October 2000

Hematological changes and athletic performance in horses in response to high altitude (3,800 m)

Steven J. Wickler and Timothy P. Anderson

Equine Research Center, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona 91768; and University of California, White Mountain Research Station, Bishop, California 93514

This study had two goals: 1) measure hematologic changes with high-altitude acclimatization in horses; and 2) assess the effect of 9 days at high altitude on subsequent athletic performance at low altitude. Six horses performed standardized exercise tests on a dirt track (before and during time at altitude) and treadmill (pre- and postaltitude exposure). Resting and immediate postexercise blood samples were measured for blood volume, lactate, red cell number, packed cell volume, and 2,3-diphosphoglycerate (DPG) concentrations at 225 m, over a 9-day period at 3,800 m, and shortly after returning to 225 m. Acclimatization produced increases in total red cell volume (38.2 ± 2.4 to 48.1 ± 2.9 ml/kg, P = 0.004) and DPG/hemoglobin concentrations (19.4 ± 1.7 increased to 29.4 ± 0.4 µmol/g, P = 0.004). Two performance variables, heart rate recovery postexercise and lactate recovery, were faster after acclimatization.

Altitude Training for Equine Performance, Steve Dank

Abstract: The research demonstrated in the scientific literature has defined a number of physiological changes to equines with sustained exposure to hypoxia in both the exercise and resting state. These changes will produce, accordingly, a number of changes in the exercise physiology of the equine which will provide for varying contributions to improved athletic performance. These changes in physiology will obviously mirror similar changes that have been identified in the human athlete. The overlap of the mammalian physiological responses between the two species has enabled investigators in the field of equine physiology to assess what the physiological parameters are that are strongly influenced by altitude exposure. This evolution of information will continue to provide physiologists with the specific responses of the equine in this environment and to further evolve what the major benefits are in relation to improved athletic performance. The changes so far derived and ascertained indicate that the equine will significantly improved its adaptation to both training load and recovery. The cellular changes identified, similar to that of the human athlete, will provide an increase in both the aerobic and anaerobic systems capacity that are associated with athletic performance.

Click here to read the rest of: Current Research on Horse Physiology Responses to Altitude.