Conditioning Sport Horses by Hilary Clayton

Horses compete in a diverse range of sporting activities, each requiring specific technical skills and different levels of physical fitness. Conditioning Sport Horses provides a background of scientific facts upon which to base a logical system of conditioning. The book is written in three parts. The first part covers exercise physiology with chapters on the cardiovascular, muscular and respiratory systems, thermoregulation, and fluid and electrolyte balance. The second part looks at the practical aspects of improving cardiovascular fitness, muscular strength and suppleness in equine athletes. Other chapters in part two describe a logical sequence for the daily workout, nutrition of the equine athlete and the use of a heart rate monitor as a conditioning aid. The third part gives sport-specific conditioning advice, with chapters on dressage, show jumping, eventing, combined driving, endurance racing, polo, cutting, reining, sprinting sports and chuckwagon racing. The text is well illustrated and is complemented by a glossary of terms. Practical advice is given regarding peaking and tapering strategies that bring a horse to a fitness peak on the day of competition, riding tactics that preserve the horse's energy reserves, and methods of coping with adverse conditions, such as hot, humid weather.

Dr. Hilary Clayton is a veterinarian, researcher, and rider. After graduating from the Glasgow University Veterinary College in 1973 she spent two years working in a mixed practice in Scotland before returning to the academic environment to complete a Ph.D. She worked as an academic veterinarian and researcher at veterinary colleges in Great Britain, The Netherlands, Canada and the USA. In 1997, Dr. Clayton became the first incumbent of the Mary Anne McPhail Dressage Chair in Equine Sports Medicine at Michigan State University. Dr. Clayton’s research interests are in the area of equine sport science, especially biomechanics and conditioning of sport horses, and the interaction between rider and horse. Her research involves using sophisticated equipment and computer programs to analyze the horse’s gaits and movement patterns. She has published five books (Conditioning Sport Horses, Colour Atlas of Large Animal Applied Anatomy, Equine Locomotion, The Dynamic Horse, Clinical Anatomy of the Horse) and many scientific manuscripts on these topics. Dr. Clayton is a past President of the Association for Equine Sports Medicine, and a former Board Member of the American Association of Equine Practitioners.

• ISBN13:: 9780969572008
• PAGES: 271

• Item #: 818