Bone adaptation to exercise in Arab horses practicing enduro equestrian 120-160km - quantitative and functional analysis

ABSTRACT Seeking the improvement of equine sports medicine, the present work aimed to determine quantitative data from different bone structures. Therefore, the objective of this work was to quantify the thickness of the cortex in a comparative way to determine the bone densitometry and also the bone density of the bone trabeculae of the spongy substance of the radius, calcaneus, and metacarpal III bones of horses practicing equestrian enduro long-distance running tests. Six thoroughbred Arabian horses and long-distance competitors (120 and 160km) were evaluated for metacarpal III, calcaneus, and accessory carpal bone. Long bones have a different micro functional structure than short bones. The sites that received and dissipated energy varied in distal, proximal epiphysis, and diaphysis according to the bone. The calcaneus and accessory carpal bone had a lower transverse thickness of the compact substance and greater density of the same, this increase was related to the improvement of local resistance. The density of the spongy substance varied with different bones. Thus, it was concluded that stress directly influenced the quantity and quality of the compact and spongy substance.