Treating the Horses of South England
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Clinical Studies
Effect of vortex wave circulation stimulation on bone measurements of mature horses on stall rest
A.L. Greene ∗, C.A. Cavinder, C.P. Heaton, C.A. Mochal-King, C.O. Lemley, T.T.N. Dinh
In today’s performance horse industry many owners and trainers use vibration stimulation as a form of therapy for equine athletes. TheraPlate© is commonly used to deliver vortex wave circulation (VWC) through front and rear plates that equally distribute pulsatile vibration to all 4 limbs of the horse.
This study was aimed to determine the effect of VWC on dorsal cortical thickness (DCT), nutrient foramen thickness (NFT), circumference (NFC), and area (NFA) of the left third metacarpal bone in stall-rested mature, stock-type horses (N = 8). All horses underwent a moderate exercise period for 1 h/d for 4 d/wk for 45-d. During this time, horses had ad libitum access to water and were housed on native grass pasture.
Following the exercise period, horses were blocked by age, assigned to either control (CON; n = 4) or treatment (TRT; n = 4), and placed on stall rest for 8 wk. During stalling, all horses were fed 2% of BW in hay/d and TRT horses were exposed to 15 min of VWC (50% max; ~2,100 RPM) 2x/d 5 d/wk; whereas CON were not. At the beginning of the stalling period (d 0) and every 2 wk thereafter, radiographs were recorded of the left third metacarpal bone and analyzed for DCT (mm), NFT (mm), NFC (mm), and NFA (mm2). Data were also used to calculate change (%) from d 0.
A generalized linear mixed model was used to analyze the data in the GLIMMIX procedure of SAS 9.4 (SAS Institutes, Cary, NC) with significance declared at P ≤ 0.100. Treatment horses had greater NFT (4.9 vs 2.9 ± 0.4; P = 0.021) and NFC (16.0 vs 12.0 ± 1.4; P = 0.094) when compared to CON. A two-way treatment × time interaction was observed (P = 0.040), in which CON and TRT were initially similar (d 0 and 14; P ≥ 0.226), but TRT horses subsequently had greater NFA on d 28 (19.6 vs 7.6 ± 2.3; P = 0.001), d 42 (15.1 vs 8.0 ± 2.3; P = 0.038), and d 56 (16.2 vs 8.0 ± 2.3; P = 0.019) as compared to CON. Similarly, a two-way treatment × time interaction (P = 0.051) was found for % NFA change, in which NFA of TRT remained the same throughout (P ≥ 0.163) while CON decreased by 30.0% from d 0 to d 28 (P = 0.079), 42 (P = 0.014), and 56 (P = 0.006).
No difference was observed in DCT (P = 0.248). An enlargement in the nutrient foramen provides a greater passage for vasculature, which may enhance nutrient blood flow of the distal limb.
Therefore, VWC may be a viable therapeutic option for performance horses during stall rest.
Effect of Vortex Wave Circulation Stimulation on Muscle Mass in Mature Horses in Stall Rest
A. Greene ∗, C. Cavinder, C. Heaton, C. Mochal-King, C. Lemley, T. Dinh
Industry use of vibration stimulation by horse owners as a therapeutic option for equine athletes is growing in popularity. The commercially available TheraPlate© uses vortex wave circulation (VWC) which delivers pulsatile stimulation from 2 separate plates (front and hind) thus administering equal exposure to all 4 limbs of the horse.
To date, a paucity of research has investigated the effect of vibration stimulation on muscle thickness (MT) in horses. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine if VWC is advantageous to mature, stock-type horses (N = 8) subjected to stall rest by measuring changes in MT in response to exposure to VWC. All horses were moderately exercised for 1 hr/d, 4 d/wk for 45 d prior to being stall rested. Horses had ad libitum access to water and were housed on native grass pasture during the exercise period. Horses were then blocked by age (4 – 14 yr; mean ± SE; 9.00 ± 1.32) and assigned to 1 of 2 groups (control, CON; n = 4 or treatment, TRT; n = 4), and placed on stall rest for 8 wk. Treatment horses were exposed to 15 min of VWC 2x/d (0700 and 1800), 5 d/wk (50% max; ~2,100 RPM), whereas CON were not. During the stalling period, all horses were fed 2% BW in hay/d. On d 0 (beginning of stall rest) and every 2 wk thereafter, the thickness of the extensor carpi radialis, extensor digitorum longus, gluteus medius, longissimus lumborum, semitendinosus, supraspinatus, and longissimus thoracis muscles were measured via ultrasonography.
Muscle thickness was used to calculate the % change relatively compared with d 0. A generalized linear mixed model was used to analyze MT data in the GLIMMIX procedure of SAS 9.4 (SAS Institutes, Cary, NC) with significance declared at P ≤ 0.100. Muscle thickness of the longissimus thoracis in TRT horses was increased by 8.9% (P = 0.008), which was significantly greater (P = 0.020) than 8.4% decrease in MT (P = 0.010) in CON. Additionally, MT of the longissimus lumborum in TRT horses increased by 7.7% (P < 0.001) which was significantly greater (P = 0.068) than the 2.9% increase in MT (P = 0.011) in CON. The thickness of the extensor carpi radialis in TRT horses was also increased by 30.9% (P = 0.005) which was significantly greater (P = 0.096) than the lack of change in CON horses (-0.40%; P = 0.945). Both the longissimus thoracis and longissimus lumborum muscles are supporting muscles in the thoracic and lumbar regions, which are greatly relied upon by the equine athlete.
Therefore, VWC appears to be a viable option for minimizing, if not improving, muscle loss in stock-type horses during stall rest.
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