title: Changes in heart rate and heart rate variability during transportation of horses by road and air.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the influence of transportation by road and air on heart rate (HR) and HR variability (HRV) in horses. Animals-6 healthy horses.
  
  
  METHODS
  ECG recordings were obtained from horses before (quarantine with stall rest [Q]; 24 hours) and during a journey that included transportation by road (RT; 4.5 hours), waiting on the ground in an air stall (W; 5.5 hours), and transportation by air (AT; 11 hours); HR was determined, and HRV indices of autonomic nervous activity (low-frequency [LF; 0.01 to 0.07 Hz] and high-frequency [HF; 0.07 to 0.6 Hz] power) were calculated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Mean ± SD HRs during Q, RT, W, and AT were 38.9 ± 1.5 beats/min, 41.7 ± 5.6 beats/min, 41.5 ± 4.3 beats/min, and 48.8 ± 5.6 beats/min, respectively; HR during AT was significantly higher than HR during Q. The LF power was significantly higher during Q (3,454 ± 1,087 milliseconds(2)) and AT (3,101 ± 567 milliseconds(2)) than it was during RT (1,824 ± 432 milliseconds(2)) and W (2,072 ± 616 milliseconds(2)). During Q, RT, W, and AT, neither HF powers (range, 509 to 927 milliseconds(2)) nor LF:HF ratios (range, 4.1 to 6.2) differed significantly. The HR during RT was highly correlated with LF power (R(2) = 0.979), and HR during AT was moderately correlated with the LF:HF ratio (R(2) = 0.477).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In horses, HR and HRV indices during RT and AT differed, suggesting that exposure to different stressors results in different autonomic nervous influences on HR.
authors.affiliation: Sports Science Division, Equine Research Institute, Japan Racing Association, 321-4 Tokami-cho, Utsunomiya, Tochigi, Japan.
authors.forename: Hajime
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ohmura
authors.forename: Seiji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hobo
authors.forename: Atsushi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hiraga
authors.forename: James H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Jones
mesh_terms: D000401:Aircraft; D000822:Animal Husbandry; D000818:Animals; D054537:Atrioventricular Block / Q000662:veterinary*; D001341:Autonomic Nervous System / Q000502:physiology; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D004562:Electrocardiography / Q000662:veterinary; D005260:Female; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology*; D006736:Horses / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D018986:Motor Vehicles; D013312:Stress, Physiological; D013997:Time Factors