Comparison of some Responses to Exercise on the Track and the Treadmill in French Trotters: Determination of the Optimal Treadmill Incline

Abstract The purpose of this study was to determine the optimal treadmill slope for trotters to produce the same heart rate and blood lactate responses as on the track during a standardized exercise test. Nine 2-year-old French trotters performed exercise tests on a training track and on a treadmill set at an incline of 0, 2 or 4%. For all horses, track testing was performed on day 1 and then on the treadmill according to a Latin-square design. The track test utilized three steps each of 3 min at speeds of 470, 530, 590 m/min and the same speeds were used on the treadmill. Derived physiological variables such as the speed at a HR of 200 bpm (V 200 ) and the speed inducing blood lactate concentrations of 4 mmol/L (V 4 ) were calculated. There were significant differences for V 200 and V 4 ( P 4 and V 200 .