Stress in polo horses; its relationship with cortisol hormone and training

Sport horses must be able to remain calm in challenging and unpredictable situations, such as all kinds of physical and mental stress. Knowing the normal behavior of horses in sports training will help to control them in the main competitions. Stress is one of the main cognitive factors disrupting the rider's control over the horse. Measuring the concentration of cortisol hormone during exercise can be a good measure to evaluate the intensity of stress in exercise horses. As a result, this study was designed and implemented to investigate the blood cortisol hormone concentration. In this study, 10 polo horses were used before and after the simulated polo match in order to measure the blood cortisol hormone concentration. The serum cortisol concentration was measured using the ELISA method. The average concentration of cortisol hormone before the competition was 3.23+2.05 (deciliter/microgram), which was in the normal range. But after the competition, the mean concentration of cortisol hormone 8.13+1.31 (deciliter/microgram) increased with a significant difference (P<0.05). Although the concentration of cortisol hormone in the horses has increased, which indicates the high stress of these horses, however, these horses did not show severe behavioral reactions during the competition and were completely calm due to continuous specialized training. As a result, specialized training that leads to an increase in the experience of horses in certain environmental conditions can increase the ability of horses to withstand stress and maintain peace.