Department of Anatomy, Physiology, and Biochemistry, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Box 7011, SE-750 07, Uppsala, Sweden.
Acta Vet Scand. 2012 Jul 17;54(1):42. doi: 10.1186/1751-0147-54-42.
Clipping the winter coat in horses is done to improve heat dissipation during exercise and make grooming easier. It is often combined with blanketing to keep the horse warm. The aims of the present study were to investigate how clipping and the use of blankets affect thermoregulation during exercise and recovery in horses.
One Gotland pony, one New Forest pony, and one warm-blooded horse exercised one after the other on a 6450 m long track. The horses walked, trotted and cantered according to a predetermined scheme, which took about 50 minutes including three stops. The scheme was repeated on five consecutive days when horses were: 1) unclipped 2) unclipped + blanket during recovery, 3) left or right side clipped, 4) clipped, and 5) clipped + riding blanket + blanket during recovery. Heart rate (HR) was measured with telemetry, respiratory rate (RR) by counting flank contractions, skin temperatures by thermistor probes, and rectal temperature with a digital thermometer. Skin wetness (SW) was estimated by ocular inspection (dripping = 5, dry = 0).
Mean outdoor temperature varied from -1.1 to - 8.7°C. HR increased progressively during exercise with no difference between treatments. Maximum RR was 77 ± 30 breaths/min (unclipped) and 49 ± 27 breaths/min (clipped). The lowest skin temperature was 17.5 ± 2.7°C in a hind leg during exercise, which increased to 34.5 ± 0.1°C during recovery. Rectal temperature was elevated during recovery in unclipped, but not in clipped horses and skin temperature at base of tail was elevated during recovery except in unclipped horses without blanket. Moisture after exercise scored 3.2 ± 0.8 in unclipped and zero in clipped horses.
Leg skin temperature initially dropped at onset of exercise in clipped horses, and then increased after about 30 minutes due to internal heat from the working muscles. These changes were not significant when clipped horses had riding blankets, whereas unclipped horses became overheated as judged from respiratory rate and elevated rectal temperature. Providing clipped horses with blankets dampened the changes in leg skin temperature during exercise.
给马修剪冬季的毛，是为了在运动时改善散热，使梳理毛发更容易。通常还会与盖毯子结合使用，以保持马的温暖。本研究的目的是探讨修剪和使用毯子如何影响运动中和运动后的马的体温调节。
一匹哥德兰小马、一匹新森林小马和一匹温血马依次在一条 6450 米长的赛道上进行运动。马按照预定的方案，行走、小跑和慢跑，大约 50 分钟包括三个停顿。在连续五天的时间里，当马处于以下状态时，会重复这个方案：1）未修剪；2）恢复期未修剪+盖毯子；3）左/右侧修剪；4）修剪；5）恢复期修剪+骑马毯+盖毯子。使用遥测仪测量心率（HR），通过计数侧腹收缩来测量呼吸频率（RR），通过热敏探头测量皮肤温度，通过数字温度计测量直肠温度。通过目测估计皮肤湿润度（滴水=5，干燥=0）。
室外平均温度在-1.1 到-8.7°C 之间变化。运动过程中心率逐渐增加，处理之间无差异。最大 RR 为 77 ± 30 次/分钟（未修剪）和 49 ± 27 次/分钟（修剪）。在运动过程中，后腿的皮肤温度最低为 17.5 ± 2.7°C，在恢复期增加到 34.5 ± 0.1°C。未修剪的马在恢复期直肠温度升高，但修剪的马则没有；除了未修剪且无毯子的马外，尾巴根部的皮肤温度在恢复期升高。运动后，未修剪的马的湿度评分为 3.2 ± 0.8，修剪的马则为 0。
在开始运动时，修剪的马的腿部皮肤温度最初下降，大约 30 分钟后，由于工作肌肉产生的内部热量，温度又升高。当修剪的马有骑马毯时，这些变化不显著，而未修剪的马由于呼吸频率增加和直肠温度升高而变得过热。给修剪的马提供毯子可以减缓运动中腿部皮肤温度的变化。
