GEORGIA INTERNATIONAL HORSE PARK

The Georgia International Horse Park has announced the employment of Mr. Elric"Ric" Pinckney, Jr. as the Presi- dent and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Pinckney will also serve as the President of the Georgia International Horse Park Foundation. Located thirty minutes from Atlanta, in Conyers, Georgia, the Geor- gia International Horse Park (GIHP) will be the site of the 1996 Olympic Eques- trian Events.

As President and Chief Executive Officer of the GIHP, Pinckney is respon- sible for marketing and development of the Horse Park, its general management and operations as well as recruiting na- tional andintemational equestrian events. He will also be developing corporate sponsorships for the Horse Park.

Prior to his employment with the GIHP, Pinckney served 10 years as Prin- cipal of ESP & Associates, Inc., a con- suiting firm specializing in equestrian facilities and amenities. Mr. Pinckney worked with architects, planners, local governments, real estate developers, and event promoters in the planning and con- struction of equestrian facilities through- out the United States. His work at ESP & Associates, Inc., included a $30 million state horse park arena, polo facilities and race course, and several residential eques- trian communities.

Other accomplishments include or- chestration of the Heaven Trees Farm Horse Show Facility in Jacksonville,

Florida; Fair Hill Horse Park in Mary- land; Rio Vista Equestrian Center in Riv- erside, California; SugarloafFarms train- ing and Breeding facilities in Atlanta; and the National Horse Show in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Mr. Pinckney also served as the Di- rector of Marketing and Public Affairs for the American Horse Couneff in Wash- ington, D.C. and the American Horse Shows Association in New York City. In these positions, Mr. Pinckney was re- sponsible for creating successful market- ing programs for non-profit industry trade associations. He gained greater network television exposure for both organiza- tions, including a substantial increase in racing and the inclusion of the National Cutting Horse Futurity, the American Invitational and the National Horse Show. He has worked with virtually all the ma- jor breed associations to assist with their public relations efforts.

Pinckneywas retained by the City of Conyers after an extensive and lengthy national search had been conducted. Conyers City Manager Roland Vaughn

said, "We conducted an extensive and rigorous search and interviewing pro- cess. Mr. Pinckney is the most qualified and knowledgeable candidate and we are very fortunate to have been able to hire him. We are enthusiastic about his abili- ties to develop the Georgia International Horse Park and sign on some significant sponsors."

"I am excited to be working for the Georgia International Horse Park and the City of Conyers," Pinckney said. "We have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to establish a world-class equestrian center from the ground up. I believe that eques- trians from throughout the world will be delighted to have the opportunity to com- pete and show here."

PERFORMANCE EVALUATION ON THE TREADMILL

last fall at the 20th Annual Surgical Forum (ACVS Symposium), in Miami, it was quite evident that treadmills have become an important part of performance evaluation of horses. A high speed equine treadmill is expensive, yet veterinarians were hearing from experts at several uni- versities that for an increasing number of evaluation procedures the treadmill is absolutely essential. Practitioners in the field have been inclined to take descrip- tions of treadmill evaluations with a grain of salt in the past. The machines have been just too expensive to consider for most veterinary practice situations--- at least $50,000 to get an adequate machine set up and running. Now some practitio- ners are trying to rationalize the purchase of this equipment, or are making arrange- ments with facilities near by to have examinations done on the treadmill when

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the situation warrants. Speaking of treadmill locomotion

analysis, Dr. HowardJ. Seehermansaid, "Selection of the appropriate treadmill, and optimal configuration of the tread- mill facility, are critical for clinical lameness evaluation." The same could be said for other type of performance evaluations, such as examination of upper respiratory function during exer- cise.

Seeherman listed the large, com- mercially available motorized tread- mills which are suitable for perfor- mance evaluation in horses as:

• Sato I- Equine Dynamics, 300 Vine Center, 333 West Vine St., Lex- ington, KY 40507.

• Mustang 2200, Kagra AG, Fahrwangen, Switzerland.

• Classic 4000, Walmanik Interna- tional Corp., 340 Dunlap Hill, Free- dom, PA 15042.

Seeherman said, "Smaller tread- mills (Sato 1I, and Beltalong) are ad- equate for training, but are not suitable for high speed evaluations due to their smaller dimensions. The ideal tread- mill configuration for clinical evalua- tions requires construction of a con- crete pit for 'in ground' installation. To allow easy entry and exit for the horse, a minimum of 4 to 5 meters should be provided in front and behind the tread- mill. Adequate room should also be provided on either side of the treadmill to allow safe access for the personnel responsible for holding the horse and for placement of the video camera and associated lighting. Flooring around the treadmill should allow for safe footing and a low dust environment."

Using the Classic 4000, New Bolton Center's Jeffords Treadmill Facility has provided some interesting insights into the causes of poor perfor- mance of the equine athlete. "To date, we have examined 105 horses and have found some unusual reasons for the drop in performance," explained Dr. Benson Martin, director of the facility. "We diagnosed an aortic thrombosis in

one horse brought to us for poor perfor- mance, and several horses with ventricu- lar premature contractions or atrial fibril- lation. These results were unexpected."

The high speed treadmill permits examination of a horse while running at top speed. New Bolton Center specialists have an array of sophisticated diagnostic tools available to examine the animal while performing. Heart monitors and radiotelemetrie electrocardiograms giv- ing precise readings while the horse is exercising at speed can detect cardiac arrhythmias. A videoendoscope allows for visual examination of the upper air- way while the horse is exercising at speed. This greatly assists in identifying dy- namic upper airway abnormalities.

''We can also do blood gas analysis and muscle enzyme analysis during or just right alter the animal has been exercised," said Martin. "This results in more accurate values and may help us in determining why the animal's performance has decreased." Martin explained that these diagnostic pro- cedures have shown a higher incidence of subclinical "tying up."

The treadmill is also used at New BoRon Center for fitness testing, high speed lameness examinations and atread- mill exercise program for horses being brought back into training.

"The Jeffords Treadmill Facility has opened many diagnostic avenues," said Martin. "We can now observe and test the animal under high speed conditions and suited to their performance careers (racing, three-day, show, etc.), and this provides a more accurate picture of the horse's physical condition. We are very excited by the enhanced diagnostic capa- bilities as they allow us to more com- pletely evaluate the patient's cardiovas- cular, respiratory, and museuloskeletal systems at speed."

Seerherman and his colleagues at Tufts University have pioneered gait analysis techniques on the treadmill us- ing conventional hand held video cameorders. He said, "Treadmill gait analysis allows for excellent visualiza- tion of the horse at all speeds. One major advantage of this technique is that the horse remains stationary relative to the

Testing a horse at Tufts University.

414 JOURNAL OF EQUINE VETERINARY SCIENCE

observer. As a result subtle lameness or gait asymmetry can be more easily de- tected. A second advantage of treadmill gait analysis is the ability to visualize the horse's motion from all angles, including the front, side and rear. Treadmill gait analysis is also an obvious advantage at private clinics or veterinary hospitals away from the racetrack as an addition to the more traditional evaluation of lame- ness in racehorses. This is particularly true for raceway type lameness where the horse will exhibit different gait abnor- malities depending on the speed the horse is traveling. Many racehorses, particu- larly Standardbreds, will exhibit various degrees of apparent lameness at slow speed only to 'smooth out' when taken to race speeds, ha addition, there are many lameness conditions in racehorses that only become apparent at very high speeds. The ability to visualize the horse at a varietyofspeeds and from different angles gives the treadmill lameness technique significant advantages over traditional 'parking lot' or 'shed row' evaluations."

Not all performance evaluations need the use of a treadmill. Dr. James T. Robertson, at The Ohio State University, told those attending the Surgical Forum, "In those horses where the diagnosis can- not be made at rest, close observation of the horse while training and immediate post exercise, endoscopy will usually provide enough additional information for an accurate diagnosis. There are ben- efits to observing the horse exercise in its own environment. The respiratory noise that the horse makes is most likely to be reproduced when exercised or training naturally. Characterization of the noise is helpful in evaluating the problem. The noise may change abruptly during exer- cise indicating that there may be two problems. The same noise may not be reproduced on the treadmill because the horse's head position is different and other mechanical and physiological fac- tors associated with a rider or driver and its natural environment are absent.

"I reserve a treadmill examination for those horses where the endoscopic

diagnosis is not obvious at rest or imme- diately after exercise, or both. Obviously, I cannot evaluate all of the horses that are referred while they are training at home. A treadmill examination is particularly useful for evaluating subtle laryngeal paralysis. The degree of arytenoid col- lapse during exercise can be assessed. Horses that show arytenoid collapse dur- ing exercise have some degree of inabil- ity to maximally abduct at rest. These horses are suspicious before they step on the treadmill. I do not believe that a horse that can consistently abduct both arytenoids maximally will 'become' a roarer during a treadmill examination.

"Two other conditions that may re- quire a treadmill examination for a de- finitive diagnosis include functional pha- ryngeal obstruction (laryngopalatal dis- location) and intermittent epiglottic en- trapment. A horse may have both of these conditions develop simultaneously. A little known condition called epiglottic retroversion, where the epiglottis is el- evated and literally sucked back into the larynx can only be diagnosed by endoscopic evaluation during exercise on a treadmill. The significance ofrostral displacement of the palatopharyngeal arch, usually arytenoid articulation and epiglottie abnormalities can also be as- sessed during exercise on a treadmill."

Dr. Norm G. Ducharme and his col- leagues are using a high speed treadmill at Cornell University in their "Equine Performance Testing Clinic." Speaking at the Surgical Forum, he said, "We feel that it is ideal to evaluate horses at the level of work where the problem is en- countered. We believe that functional upper airway obstruction occurs because of one or more of the following factors: increased compliance of the upper air- way, abnormally elevated positive or negative airway pressures, muscle fa- tigue, and/or abnormal head and neck posture at exercise. Since higher respira- tory frequency, pressure fluctuations, and flow occurs with higher speeds, we pre- fer to exercise a horse at higher speed rather than at low speed 'until fatigued.'

We have been reluctant, for fear of ortho- pedic injuries, to evaluate horses at maxi- mal speed until they fatigue. Therefore we fast test the horses at maximal speed then slow down the speed of the treadmill and continue exercising the horse until fatigue."

The veterinarians at Cornell have used the treadmill and videoendoscopy to evaluate the upper airway function of 103 horses. "All horses adapted readily to the treadmill and to endoscopic exami- nation. No injuries were noted except for occasional abrasion over the point of the shoulders, due to rubbing on the front of the restraining belt," Ducharme said. They have determined that the treadmill, or exercising appearance and function of the arytenoid cartilage could not be accu- rately predicted in Grade HI laryngeal hemiplegla by tests and appearance at rest. "During exercise, half of these horses could reach full abduction, while the other half could not," they reported.

Dr. John A. Stick, professor at Michi- gan State University, and head of the "Equine Performance Program" there said at the Surgical Forum, "During exercise, we examined the upper airway of 109 racing Thoroughbreds, Quarter Horses, or Standardbreds with a history of exer- cise intolerance and/or upper airway noise and with nondiagnostic endoscopic find- ings at rest. Following 2 days of training on a high-speed treadmill, videoendos- copy of the upper airway was performed in Thoroughbreds and Quarter Horses exercising between 12 and 14 meters/see (between a 2:14 and a l:55-minute mile) and on an incline of between 0* and 6", and in harnessed Standardbreds exercis- ing at similar speeds and on an incline of between 0 ° and 3 °. Slow-motion play- back of the videotape was used to help determine the dynamics of the upper airway and the reasons for the functional obstruction."

Professor Reuben J. Rose, at the University of Sydney, Australia, has been a leader in research on the equine tread- mill for a number of years. He began with a small, slow treadmill with limited ca-

Volume 13, Number 7, 1993 415

pacity and progressed to a small high- speed treadmill (Beltalong). In a recent article (The Compendium, June 1993), he explained his preferences in a treadmill.

"To be most useful," Rose wrote, "a treadmill must allow a horse to be walked, trotted, cantered, and galloped. The ma- chine thus must be a least 3.4 meter-long and 0.8 meters wide. A motor-driven treadmill should be powerful enough that the horse cannot override the motor and speed up or slow down the treadmill belt. Well-designed treadmills have built in shock-absorbing capacity to minimize

some of the impact on the horse's limbs. The treadmill should be capable of being inclined to a slope of 6* (10%). Inclining the treadmill allows high-intensity exer- cise at more moderate treadmill speeds. According to our research, at a slope of 6", treadmill speeds of 12 to 13 m/see are equivalent to speeds of 16.0 to 16.5 m/see of exercise on a flat surface."

Rose continues to he surprised at how well horses adapt to exercise on a treadmill, despite 10 years of experience. He said, "We deal mainly with Thor- oughbreds but have experience with Stan-

dardbred and pleasure horses. We begin a horse walking at a speed of approxi- mately 1.5 to 2.0 m/see for 3 -4 minutes to allow adjustment to the exercise; we trot the horse at 4 m/see for 2-3 minutes and increase the speed to 6 and then 8 m/see for 1-2 minutes each. Most horses canter at a speed between 6 and 7 m/see on an incline; during a horse's first exposure, this is the most difficult gait to achieve. The horse shouldbe keptworkingtoward the front of the treadmill. Some encour- agement may be required for the horse to break into a canter."

gtandard lea-

;fully self-con- y mast and side and can be seen el Square, PA.

one reason why the price is higher. The exercise physiology research program at the Uni-

versity of Sydney, Australia, has a Mustang. Inthe United

For further information about the Mustang contact Mario Graber, Sarmenstorferstrasse 388, P.O. Box 24, 5615 Fahrwangen, Switzerland; phone 057-271891or Fax 057-273160.

416 JOURNAL OF EQUINE VETERINARY SCIENCE