title: Exercise and Rehabilitation of Older Horses.
abstract: An increasing percentage of the equine population is more than 15 years old, many performing various athletic activities into their 20s. Studies of aged humans have led to a fine tuning of exercise prescription to promote fitness while preventing adverse and potentially dangerous effects of excessive exercise. However, limited data exist regarding the exercise capacity of aged horses. This article presents an overview of published studies on aging-induced decreases in physiologic function and exercise capacity in the horse. The information presented can be used as a guide for exercise prescription for the growing population of active older equine athletes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Science, Equine Science Center, School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, 84 Lipman Drive, New Brunswick, NJ 08901-8525, USA. Electronic address: mckeever@aesop.rutgers.edu.
authors.forename: Kenneth Harrington
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: McKeever
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging; D000818:Animals; D017079:Exercise Tolerance; D006736:Horses / Q000502:physiology*; D010805:Physical Conditioning, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D014730:Veterinary Medicine
keywords: Aging; Exercise capacity; Horse; Physiologic function