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> From: "Endurance.Net" <ridecamp@xxxxxxxxx>
> To: considerThis@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>
> Original Article: http://www.horsetalk.co.nz/health/ 
> electrolytes-147.shtml
>
> Horses and humans use the same strategies for keeping cool, but  
> there the similarities end.
>
> Horses are nowhere near as efficient as people in staying cool.  
> It's all because of their body shape and their much greater  
> percentage of heat-generating muscle.
>
> The difference is most apparent in hot and humid conditions, when a  
> horse's rate of heat build-up will be about three and a half times  
> greater than that of a human.
>
> "For us as caregivers to horses, it is critically important to  
> recognise these very high rates of heat storage," says Dr Michael  
> Lindinger, from the Department of Human Health and Nutritional  
> Science at the University of Guelph, in Ontario, Canada.
>
> "Even though we may perceive that warm, humid conditions are not  
> producing undue stress or strain in us, they may certainly be  
> resulting in strain in horses," he says.
>
> The higher rates of heat storage in horses result from a greater  
> proportion of contracting muscle in horses - some 40% of body mass  
> - compared to about 20% in running humans.
>
> Also, horses have a lower skin surface in relation to their size  
> than people, meaning their ability to dissipate heat is greatly  
> reduced compared to humans. Horses have only 40% of the surface  
> area to body mass as people do.
>
> "Horses are capable of producing large amounts of heat at high  
> rates but, compared to humans, are a severe physical disadvantage  
> in dissipating that heat."
>
> Lindinger, whose particular interests lie in the regulation of ion  
> transport across cell membranes and the regulation of body fluid  
> balance, was amongst speakers at the fourth European Equine Health  
> and Nutrition Congress in the Netherlands, where he talked about  
> challenges faced by performance horses in staying cool.
>
> [More ...]  http://www.horsetalk.co.nz/health/electrolytes-147.shtml
>
> --
> Posted By Endurance.Net to Consider This at 8/26/2008 07:26:00 AM


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