Blood biochemical changes in show jumpers during a simulated show jumping test

The modifi cations of some biochemical parameters and serum electrolytes after a simulated show jumping test were evaluated. On seven clinically healthy Italian saddle horses, heart rate (HR), lactate concentration, serum concentrations of alkaline phosphatase (ALP), aspartate amino transferase (AST), alanine amino transferase (ALT), creatine kinase (CK), gamma glutamil transferase (γGT), lactic dehidrogenase (LDH), creatinine, urea, total bilirubin, glucose, chloride (Cl-), potassium (K+) and sodium (Na+) were analysed at rest, after the warm up, immediately after the simulated show jumping and 45 minutes after the end of the exercise. One-way repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed a signifi cant effect of sampling time (P<0.05) on HR, lactate concentration, ALP, AST, ALT, CK, γGT, creatinine, glucose and K+. These results suggest that by knowing the biochemical changes during a simulated jumping test, the veterinarian could better judge the horses with electrolytes and metabolic disturbances in a competition.