Electrocardiography Parameters Recorded With Holter Monitoring in Sport and Work Horses Before and After Physical Activity

Electrocardiography (ECG) is critically important for monitoring of heart rhythm and for diagnosis of arrhythmias. Holter monitoring is particularly valuable when anamnestic data indicate arrhythmia, syncope or when arrhythmia cannot be diagnosed using ECG assessment before, during or after training. The aim of this study was to use Holter monitoring over 24-hour intervals to investigate ECG parameters (amplitudes and intervals) in sport and workgroup horses at rest and after physical activity. Seventeen Arabian horses and 20 Bosnian Mountain ponies comprised sport and work horse groups for the study, respectively. All horses were outfitted with Holter ECG Televet 100 devices for continuous electrocardiogram recording. Exercise for sport group horses involved endurance riding on a 10 km long cross-country trail. Work group horses extracted of logs (approx. 250 kg each) from limited access logging areas on a trail up to a few hundred meters long. Statistical analysis of mean ECG parameters between sport and workhorses before and after physical activity was performed by independent Student's t-test (two-tail, assuming unequal variances). p