Comparison of some responses to exercise on the track and the treadmill in French trotters: determination of the optimal treadmill incline.
Authors: Couroucé A, Corde R, Valette J P, Cassiat G, Hodgson D R, Rose R J
Journal: Veterinary journal (London, England : 1997)
Summary
# Editorial Summary French trotters exhibit significantly different cardiovascular and metabolic responses when exercised on a treadmill compared to track work, necessitating careful standardisation of testing protocols used in performance assessment and training evaluation. Researchers evaluated nine young trotters performing identical exercise tests on both a training track and a treadmill set at varying inclines (0%, 2% and 4%), measuring heart rate responses at key thresholds and blood lactate concentrations during three-minute work bouts at speeds between 470–590 m/min. A 2% treadmill incline produced physiological responses comparable to track work, with no significant differences in either the speed eliciting 200 beats per minute (V₂₀₀) or the speed at 4 mmol/L blood lactate (V₄), whilst 0% and 4% inclines produced significantly divergent results; regression analysis confirmed the optimal incline to be 2.4%. For equine professionals conducting fitness testing, performance monitoring or exercise physiology research, these findings underscore the importance of applying a standardised 2–2.4% incline when using treadmill protocols as a substitute for or comparison to track work, ensuring that derived performance variables remain valid and directly comparable across different testing environments.
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Practical Takeaways
- •Set treadmills at 2-2.4% incline when conducting standardized fitness tests on trotters to accurately simulate track conditions and compare results across horses or training periods
- •Using a flat treadmill (0% incline) underestimates fitness and lactate threshold; over-inclined treadmills (4%) overestimate these parameters relative to actual track performance
- •Heart rate response at 200 bpm and blood lactate threshold at 4 mmol/L are reliable derived variables for monitoring trotter fitness on treadmill training
Key Findings
- •A treadmill incline of 2.4% produces equivalent heart rate and blood lactate responses to track exercise in French trotters
- •At 0% and 4% inclines, treadmill responses differed significantly from track responses (P<0.05)
- •At 2% incline, no significant differences were found between track and treadmill for V(200) and V(4) derived variables
- •Speed at heart rate 200 bpm (V200) and speed at 4 mmol/L blood lactate (V4) were the optimal physiological variables for comparison