Dressage and much more: sporting performance and the horse's metabolic activity

CENRE Yeguada Cartuja has contributed to the development of this project with one of our main assets, our Cartujano-strain PRE horses, which have taken part in the high-performance periods leading up to dressage competitions, and even during dressage shows and trials.

Classical Dressage is the aesthetic discipline par excellence, in which the quality of the gaits and skill of movement are considered key success factors, with an average effort of 6 minutes, in which strength, flexibility and coordination combine to visually convey this notion of elasticity of movement; however, assessing the horse's physical condition takes a back seat. Despite being one of the three Olympic equestrian disciplines, studies in the field of Classical Dressage are scarce and do not reflect the needs of riders and trainers. Most aim to improve scientific knowledge of the animal, but few integrate the sporting aspect with the horse's metabolic activity and the purpose for which the animal is used.

This research project, led by Alicia Pradillo and Anne Elise Thiolat, mainly analyses biometric data, as well as certain biochemical markers, during training monitoring, with a view to developing and improving techniques to reduce stress and muscle fatigue in competition equids.

Dressage is primarily an aerobic effort, with alactic anaerobic periods; the purpose of this project is to provide riders, trainers and vets with an easy and affordable working tool to improve the horse's performance, facilitate early detection of injury, and raise their awareness of the importance of aligning physical condition, mental state and competitive goals.