This site is dedicated to providing information relating to health and well being issues in animals.
Particularly the high performance athletic animal. Whether it be a thoroughbred racehorse, show jumping, endurance horses, eventing, dressage, any equestrian activity, standardbred pacer, greyhound, sled dog, racing camel or in fact any animal in hard work.
The Wonder of Athletic Performance Animals |
Athletic dogs and horses keep people around the world enthralled with their amazing athletic ability. There are many different types of animal performance, centred primarily around the ability of horses, camels and dogs to perform great feats of speed and endurance.
In this short article, we will look at some of the
factors that make athletic animal performance so amazing.
Athletic Dogs |
Greyhounds are built for speed over short distances, and sled dogs are
built for strength and endurance over sometimes phenomenal distances in
extremes of climate. Both are the same species of animal, and both are
specialised to perform at opposite ends of the athletic performance
spectrum.
Athletic Horses |
There are over 350 breeds of horses, all with varying athletic
abilities. The two main performance horse activities are thoroughbred
and standardbred racing, followed by quarter horse sprinting, but there
are many other horses known for amazing endurance, co-ordination or
strength
The animal as an athlete
At a typical top speed of 18.7 metres/second (45mph or 72km/h),
greyhounds are not only the fastest dog, but are second only to the
Cheetah and Pronghorn Antelope as the world’s fastest animal.
The Cheetah has a maximum speed of 31.67 metres/second (114km/hour, or
70mph). From a standing start, a Cheetah can reach 20metres/second
(45mph) in just two (2) seconds (3-4 strides). Cheetahs can maintain an
average speed of 112km/h over an average chase distance of 3 miles.
The Pronghorn Antelope reaches speeds of about 61mph (almost 100km/h).
Being almost as fast as a Cheetah, the Pronghorn Antelope is built for
long distance and endurance. The Cheetah is a sprinter, relying on
anaerobic metabolism, while the Pronghorn is an endurance athlete,
relying primarily on aerobic metabolism, yet both animals are perfectly
designed to run at full speed, just with different adaptations.
At maximum acceleration, a greyhound reaches full speed of 70km/h within
30 metres, (or 6 strides) from the starting boxes, travelling at up to 18
metres/second for the first 250 metres of a race. At the gallop a
greyhound is fully airborne, with no feet touching the track, twice
during every full stride. The only animal able to accelerate faster than
a greyhound is the Cheetah.
By contrast, a
galloping thoroughbred racehorse (the fastest horse in the world) can
reach a maximum speed of about 49km/h, or 13.6 metres/second for
distances of over 1 mile (1.6km). A quarterhorse reaches speeds of about
50 mph (76km/h) over shorter distances (20 metres per second).
An elite human sprinter can reach 27.89mph (40km/h) in a 10 second
sprint race at a maximum speed of 11 metres/second. Maximum speed is
lost after about 65 metres, so an elite human athlete is no match for
the fastest in the animal kingdom.
Speed
When an animal needs to run faster,
it increases either the stride length or the stride rate. A stride is a
complete movement from the point of one foot striking the ground,
leaving it, then striking the ground again. Stride length is the
distance involved in that stride. Stride rate is how many strides are
taken over a fixed time.
Horses
The horse has a maximum stride length of about 7 metres, and a stride
rate of about 2.25 strides per second. Thus, it covers the ground at up
to 17 metres/second, at a top speed of 70km/h.. The great racehorse,
Secretariat, won a 1.5 mile race (2.4km) by 31 lengths in a world record
time of 2:24 (an average speed of 16.764 metres per second).
While horses are born sprinters, with training they are able to achieve
distances of over 100 miles (160km) at average speeds of around 10-12
mph (16km-19km/h)
At the various gaits, horses move at indicative speeds below;
Walk: roughly 3-4 mph
Trot: roughly 8-10mph
Canter: roughly 10-17mph
Gallop: roughly 30mph, thoroughbreds over 40mph, quarterhorses 50mph
over short distances.
Cheetah
The Cheetah, which is much smaller than the horse, has a stride length
about the same as a horse, but it has a higher stride rate of 3.5
strides per second, and a top speed of about 114km/h
Greyhounds
At maximum acceleration, greyhounds reach full speed of 72km/h within 30
metres (6 strides) from the start, travelling at up to 18 metres/second
in the first 250 metres of a race. Greyhounds can then maintain an
average speed of 16.5 metres per second over a 500 metre race,
decreasing to about 14.6 metres per second at the finish line.
A greyhound has a stride length of about 5 metres, taking 4 strides per
second as it accelerates from the boxes, and decreasing to about 3.25
strides per second along the home straight, with each limb touching the
ground for only 0.11 seconds. The greyhound foreleg has a flight
distance off the ground of 1.23 metres, while the rear legs have a 2.45
metre flight distance (double the distance).
Sled Dogs
In contrast, sled dogs in the Iditarod sled dog race run up to 125 miles
per day, often racing for up to 6 hours at a time, for 9-14 days,
pulling a sled weighing over 100kg in extremes of climate. The record
for the Iditarod race is currently 8 days and 22 hours. A sled dog
typical racing pace averages between 10-12 miles per hour (16-19km/h),
so every 6 hour running period covers about 70 miles (112km). And they
keep this up for an average of 11 days!
Humans
An elite human sprinter can reach 40km/h in a 10 second sprint race at a
maximum speed of 11 metres per second. In July 21, 1996, Michael Johnson
ran 200 metres in 19.32 seconds in Atlanta, a speed of 10.362 metres per
second (37.267km/h), to win an Olympic title, and become the fastest man
in the world over 200m. Johnson also ran a 400m in 1999 at a time of
43.18 seconds, making him number on in the world at 400m.
Camels
Camels run at speeds of 33km/h (20mph) There are many anecdotes of the
legendary endurance ability of camels. In 1874 the explorer Giles
marched 350km across the deserts in South Australia in temperatures of
40 degrees C, with 2 horses and 3 camels. The horses were given water
but did not survive the trip. The camels completed the trip in 8 days
without water. On a mail run in Western Australian goldfields camels
regularly covered 144km in 10 hours.
Practice runs over 2-4 km are run as fast as possible in regions such as
UAE, where 3km runs take 5 minutes 30 seconds, and 4km runs take 7
minutes. Serious racing commences at 5km distances, with some stayers
racing over 10km. many races start with a mad dash of speed of up to
40km/h, then slow to an average 33-34km/h. the best times for 10km are
under 18 minutes. Endurance races require training distances of 30-50km
daily to be undertaken.
To achieve these feats of speed and endurance, athletic animals have
some remarkable adaptations;
Blood Volume and Heart Function
Greyhound
With a total blood volume of 3.4 litres for an average 30kg greyhound
being pumped around the body up to 4-5 times during a 30 second race,
the greyhound needs an efficient heart. The greyhound heart weighs from
1.18 to 1.73% of bodyweight, or 270-519g for an average 30kg dog. This
is a higher volume than found in racehorses (at 1-1.3% bodyweight), or
in normal dogs, at 0.77% of bodyweight, or in humans (at 0.5% of
bodyweight)
An average 70kg human athlete’s heart is similar to that of a 30kg
greyhound, but the greyhound’s heart delivers blood at almost twice the
rate, beating at up to a maximum of 310-340 beats/minute at the gallop,
compared to humans at 170-210 beats/minute
A fit greyhound has the highest blood volume of any athlete, relative to
its body size, with blood contributing 11.4% of bodyweight, compared to
10.5% for a racehorse, 9.5% for a human sprint athlete, and 7.2% for a
normal pet dog.
A fit greyhound has about 3 litres of blood, consisting of about 2
litres of cells (about 6.6% of its bodyweight), or a Packed Cell Volume
(PCV) of 60%. A racehorse has a blood volume of about 55 litres, but a
PCV of about 40% when fit (4.4% of its bodyweight)
A racing greyhound heart will pump out 6.4 litres of blood per minute
(from 200mL per kg bodyweight per minute at rest to over 1000mL per kg)
at a full gallop, so they circulate up to 15 litres of blood (or half of
their bodyweight) around their body during a 30 second race, so the
entire blood volume is circulated around the body at least 4-5 times
during a 30 second race. To maintain this blood volume, a greyhound has
about 35 x 10 12 red blood cells in its body, producing around 5 million
replacement red cells per second in bone marrow and spleen!
The resting heart rate of a greyhound is 29-50 beats/minute. Intense
work can increase the heart rate to 300-360 beats/minute. The greyhound
heart can contract and refill with blood five times per second during a
race. Even at rest the greyhound heart can pump more blood per beat per
kg than other dogs. Greyhounds have a superior oxygen transport system
to humans.
The normal resting heart rate of an Alaskan Sled Dog is 40-60
beats/minute when sleeping, 100-150/minute before a race, and 300/minute
at the start of a race and during work. A sled dog can easily run for
6-7 hours without becoming too tired, and then need only 6-7 hours rest
before they do it all again. Most work will be conducted at a heart rate
of up to 300 beats/minute.
Horse
The heart mass of a fit racehorse is 4-5kg (1-1.3% of bodyweight). From
a resting heart rate of 25-40 beats/minute, the heart will increase to
about 240 beats/minute during maximum work periods. At each heart beat
the heart will pump around 1 litre of blood. Maximum blood flow around
the body is 300 litres/minute.
The total blood volume of the horse is around 55 litres,(9% of
bodyweight), with 20% found in the lungs and the remainder in the body.
A normal horse resting heart rate is 25-40 beats/minute. Walking heart
rate is about 80/minute, trotting or cantering is 150 beats/minute,
galloping to 250 beats/minute.
Humans
Man’s major deficiency as a sprinting athlete is a relatively low
maximum heart rate, and a small heart relative to body size, with a low
PCV. Sprinting impedes respiration in man, but helps respiration in
greyhounds and man.
Camels
The resting PCV is lower in camels than for other species, being about
35%. The resting heart rate is about 33 beats/minute, with a maximum
heart rate of about 147/minute. Resting respiratory rate is about 18
breaths/minute, increasing by 250% at high exercise rates.
Oxygen Uptake and Utilisation, & Energy Production
While closely linked to heart size and blood volume, there are many
interesting facts relating to how animals take up oxygen (and use it
during exercise)
Horses
Have a resting heart rate of 25-40 beats/minute, and with each heart
beat pumping 1 litre of blood around the body. At rest a horse breathes
about 12 times/minute and moves about 5 litres of air in and out of the
lungs with each breath. This totals about 60-80 litres/minute at rest.
This volume may reach 1800 litres/minute at full exercise or heavy work.
At the beginning of exercise the heart rate accelerates rapidly to
circulate blood and oxygen to the body rapidly. At rest, the majority of
blood circulates through the body organs, and at the start of exercise,
the blood vessels in the muscles dilate to allow increased blood flow.
At the same time, blood flow to organs such as kidney and gut reduces.
If exercise is severe, the spleen contracts, to allow additional stored
red blood cells to enter the circulation, increasing the horse’s ability
to transport oxygen to tissues. So horses have a big heart, high blood
volume, and the ability to increase blood volume when needed from spleen
reserves.
At rest the horse obtains the majority of its energy from fats rather
than from carbohydrates. As work intensity increases, the percentage of
anaerobic metabolism from carbohydrates increases. Heat production from
fats is not as high as that from carbohydrates.
Horses may lose up to 15 litres of sweat per hour in hot, humid
conditions during endurance activity. During this time horses can lose
up to 100g of electrolytes per hour.
The most efficient speed and gait for a horse in terms
of the least amount of energy expended to travel along the ground is a
canter, at a speed of around 5-11metres/second (18-40km/h)
An endurance horse exercising at a speed of 4-5 metres/second consumes
about 25 litres of oxygen per minute.
Greyhounds
Greyhounds breathe in 60-90 litres of air in 50-90 breaths during a 30
second sprint, extracting about 1500mLs of oxygen from the air. During
the gallop the blood pressure in the lung arteries increases from about
7mm mercury pressure units at rest to 40 units, similar to the peak in a
human athlete, but only one third of the pressure in a racehorse’s lung,
which reaches 120mm mercury, or roughly 2psi.
Greyhound sprint racing is anaerobic (without oxygen) primarily, with
about 80% of their power produced without oxygen. In the first 7 seconds
of a 30 second sprint race almost all energy production during
acceleration is anaerobic. During the first 3.5 second phase of the race
all of the creatine energy reserves in muscle for energy production are
used up. In fact, greyhounds expend half of the total energy used in a
30 second race during the first 3.5 second acceleration phase.
During the second stage of a race after acceleration, aerobic energy
production supplies 55-70% of energy production
Compared to man, the greyhound has a very high oxygen uptake during
sprinting. Man’s major deficiencies as a sprinter are low maximal heart
rate, small heart relative to body size, and low PCV.
In distance racing trials (coursing) in UK in excess of 40 seconds
duration, 80% of the total energy in the final half of the event is
metabolised using oxygen (aerobically)
Greyhounds and racing sprint horses surprisingly, when performing for
less than one minute, use up only about 6% of their total available
daily energy intake in the race.
During a 30 second sprint race, greyhounds produce around 100kcals or
100,000 watts of waste heat energy, sufficient to bring 600mL of tap
water to a boil in 2 minutes!
Sled dogs show aortic blood pressure of 130/90mm mercury at rest, and
300mm mercury when running. Coronary artery blood flow increases 5-6
times that of normal rates. Almost all energy production during sled
running is aerobic (with oxygen).
The energy available from fats is 9cal/g (37MJ/kg), where proteins and
carbohydrates provide only 4cal/g (16.8MJ/kg). Accordingly, performance
animals are often fed a fat component to increase the energy density of
feeds without increasing meal volume unnecessarily (particularly in
endurance horses and sled dogs performing endurance work)
Camels
At rest a camel breathes about 27 litres/minute of air, increasing to
500 litres with exercise, with tidal volume of air being 13.5 litres
At speed the camel stride length is 4.9m, with a stride frequency of
1.84/minute at 9 metres/second
Physical Stress of Performance
Greyhounds
At a gallop a racing greyhound is only touching the track surface for
25% of its stride distance. During the remainder of the stride it is
airborne until the next limb hits the track.
On the straight, the greyhound carries 2.26 times its bodyweight on the
weight bearing front limb at each stride, increasing to 5 times (or
about 150kg) in downward weight force on its left inside front limb when
leaning over around a bend on the track.
The wrist (carpus) bones of the front legs sustain pressures of about
500psi (20,000 newtons) per square centimetre when cornering at a
gallop, and a downward pressure of 150kg.
The stride length of about 5 metres occurs about 4 strides per second as
the dog accelerates from the traps. Each limb touches the ground for
about 0.11 seconds only. The forelegs have a flight distance of 1.23
metres, and the rear legs which provide the power, 2.45 metres (double
the distance).
The loading force placed on limbs during racing is repaired over the
next 7-10 days. Greyhounds have 321 bones in their body.
Horse
Horses have 205 bones: 54 in the vertebral/spinal column, 1 sternum, 34
in the skull, 40 in the front legs, 40 in the hind legs. Most breeds
have 18 ribs, but Arabian horses have 17. Most horses have 6 lumbar
vertebrae, but Arabians have 5. Most horses have 18 tail vertebrae,
Arabians have 16. The average human has 206 bones. Greyhounds have 321
bones.
Horses use no more energy to canter than they do to trot. Treadmill
trials show similar energy used to travel at 10mph at the trot as they
use to travel at 20mph at the canter. When standing, horses carry 65% of
their weight on their front legs.
Camels
Compared to other animals the cost of locomotion in the camel is
considerably lower at high speeds. At 4m/second the horse is 25% higher,
and at 8m/sec is double that of the camel. Camels have a pacing gait
which may be responsible for energy savings of that magnitude. Camels
walk at 4-6km/h, then pace at an easy 10-12km/h. This can be maintained
for many hours. For short periods the camel can maintain 20km/h in a
pacing gait
Nutrition
Sled Dogs
The accepted maintenance requirement of an Alaskan Sled Dog of 25kg
(55lb) while in a yard not working is about 2500kcalories. When running
in races such as the Iditarod, Yukon Quest and Copper Basin 300, this
requirement increases to 14,000 kilocalories daily. These dogs will
drink in excess of 5 litres of water daily. The high energy level of the
diets is testament to the degree of physical work these dogs perform,
and to the fact that they must maintain body temperature in extremes of
climate fluctuating from 40 degrees C to 60 degrees below zero in biting
winds, snowstorms, and all types of rugged terrain. These dogs are
efficient at burning fats, as well as carbohydrates for energy
production. Most sled dog diets are very high in fat and protein, and
include dry food, raw meat and fats. A typical daily meal is 500g dry
dog food, up to 750gm raw meat, 800gm fat, and 1-2 litres water
Competitive sled dogs will have trained for up to about 3,000km annually
before entering major sled events such as the Iditarod.
Greyhounds
To provide nourishment for a full work program of one trial or race,
plus 2 handslips of 250-300 metres per week. Greyhounds are fed twice
daily, including powdered milk, 120-140g dry kibble in morning, plus dry
kibble and/or 700g raw meat again in evening. Sometimes the diet
contains stew, tripe or fish for variety
Dogs have a greater capacity to oxidise fat than humans. Sled dogs have
high fat diets comprising over 50% total diet in fat to increase
stamina. Nutrient requirements differ for racing sprint dogs. While a
high protein diet (>30%) is good for sled dogs, it makes greyhounds run
too slowly. The energy requirement for greyhounds is much lower than
that for sled dogs, being not much higher than that for normal resting
dogs. A greyhound needs only 75kcals of energy (only 4.5-6% of total
daily energy intake) in an actual race.
Horses
Horses drink about 25litres of water daily, depending on workload and
climate. A galloping racehorse can lose between 4-7kg bodyweight during
fast work periods. About90% of this is water. In contrast, a working
standardbred will lose between 5-15kg bodyweight during a 1600 meter
race. Again, 90% of this is water.
In an 80km endurance ride it is expected that a horse can lose between
30-50kg bodyweight in water, primarily as sweat.
As 1 litre of sweat evaporates from a horse, about 580kcal of heat is
lost from the horse. This is the amount of heat generated by 1-2 minutes
of maximum sprint exercise, or 5-6 minutes of endurance exercise.
Camels
Camels have the ability to recycle water. A fully hydrated camel has 12%
of its bodyweight in water, about the same as that for cattle, but the
camel is far better able to conserve water. When deprived of water,
sheep lose in 3 days what camels lose in 12 days.
The voluntary feed intake of camels is about half to three quarters that
of cattle. This amounts to a dry matter intake of about 7.6kg per day
per 450kg camel. Racing camels are fed a concentrated diet, and daily
intakes constitute soaked grain such as barley, fresh alfalfa, dates,
cows milk, and hay spread over two feeds. Camels perform well on this
diet
Over a period of 2-3 weeks camels can lose 33% of their body water
without serious consequences. Humans and many other mammals are in
serious trouble at 10% losses.
The camel is the best at replenishing water – it has been known for a
600kg camel with a deficit of 200litres to drink that amount in 10
minutes!
In the Sahara, camels have marched 1,000km in 20-30
days without drinking water, but camels usually drink once weekly in
summer
Animal Trivia
The nearest relative to horses are the rhinoceros and tapirs.
The horsepower unit is an internationally recognised unit of power. It
is defined as the power required to lift a weight of 75kg over a
distance of 1 metre in one second. A real horse is actually 10-13 times
as strong as this, so one horse does not equal one horsepower.
The world record for the highest horse jump is 2.47 metres.
Horses have a more highly developed sense of smell than humans
Horses have one of the largest eyes of any modern animal, and they have
binocular vision in the front 60-70 degrees, as well as monocular
vision, allowing them to see for 340-357 degrees around themselves. They
have a small blind spot directly behind their rump.
Horses have a wider hearing range than humans
Touch is the most acutely developed sense in horses.
The four natural gaits of the horse are the walk, trot, canter and
gallop. Some harness horses use an unnatural gait as well – pacing,
where both limbs on the same side are extended simultaneously.
All articles written within this site are meant to guide without providing definitive advice. In all cases you are advised to consult with your veterinary professional.
The links on the left margin will take you to various pages relative to a particular species and what we consider to be relevant issues relating to high performance animals.
You will also find various links to other websites that may provide additional information of benefit.
Enjoy:
Dr Jenni Ahmat (BSC BVMS)
IVAS (USA) Cert. Vet Acupuncture
AVCA (USA) Cert. Vet Chiropractics