title: Cortisol release, heart rate and heart rate variability in the horse and its rider: different responses to training and performance.
abstract: Although some information exists on the stress response of horses in equestrian sports, the horse-rider team is much less well understood. In this study, salivary cortisol concentrations, heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV), SDRR (standard deviation of beat-to-beat interval) and RMSSD (root mean square of successive beat-to-beat intervals) were analysed in horses and their riders (n=6 each) at a public performance and an identical rehearsal that was not open to the public. Cortisol concentrations increased in both horses and riders (P<0.001) but did not differ between performance and rehearsal. HR in horses and riders increased during the rehearsal and the public performance (P<0.001) but the increase in HR was more pronounced (P<0.01) in riders than in their horses during the public performance (from 91 ± 10 to 150 ± 15 beats/min) compared to the rehearsal (from 94 ± 10 to 118 ± 12 beats/min). The SDRR decreased significantly during the equestrian tasks in riders (P<0.001), but not in their horses. The RMSSD decreased in horses and riders (P<0.001) during rehearsal and performance, indicating a decrease in parasympathetic tone. The decrease in RMSSD in the riders was more pronounced (P<0.05) during the performance (from 32.6 ± 6.6 to 3.8 ± 0.3 ms) than during the rehearsal (from 27.5 ± 4.2 to 6.6 ± 0.6 ms). The study has shown that the presence of spectators caused more pronounced changes in cardiac activity in the riders than it did in their horses.
authors: Graf Lehndorff Institute for Equine Sciences, 16845 Neustadt (Dosse), Germany.
authors: Mareike
authors: M
authors: von Lewinski
authors: Sophie
authors: S
authors: Biau
authors: Regina
authors: R
authors: Erber
authors: Natascha
authors: N
authors: Ille
authors: Jörg
authors: J
authors: Aurich
authors: Jean-Michel
authors: JM
authors: Faure
authors: Erich
authors: E
authors: Möstl
authors: Christine
authors: C
authors: Aurich
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology*; D006736:Horses / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D010805:Physical Conditioning, Animal; D013177:Sports; D013312:Stress, Physiological / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D006854:Hydrocortisone
keywords: Cortisol; Heart rate; Horse; Rider; Stress