The effects of exercise on hematologic parameters of Khuzestan Arabian horse

The success of a horse in competitions, largely depends on cardiovascular, respiratory and musco-skeletal system capacities which are basically determined by genetic characteristics and training procedur. It seems that the evaluation of parameters like vital signs, electrocardiogram and hematologic changes following intense physical activity provide data which may help in predicting the athletic capacity of horse in real racing conditions. In this study, the red blood cell changes and different related indices and leukograms were determined before and after intense physical activity in eight, 4-10 years old Arabian horses. The blood samples were collected at 1 h before, just after, 3 hours and 24 hours after running with maximum speed in a 1250-meters course and were analyzed using an automatic counter machine. The results showed that most of the measured parameters (including RBC count, hematocrit, MCV and WBC count) were significantly increased just after running. It seems that factors like stress induced by racing conditions and sweating increase the measured parameters. The changes occurred in different kinds of white blood cells showed different patterns.