Bukhari Syed S U H, McElligott Alan G, Parkes Rebecca S V
Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, Jockey Club College of Veterinary Medicine and Life Sciences, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
Department of Infectious Diseases and Public Health, Jockey Club College of Veterinary Medicine and Life Sciences, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
Animals (Basel). 2021 May 7;11(5):1333. doi: 10.3390/ani11051333.
There are approximately 112 million working equids in developing countries, many of which are associated with brick kilns. Brick kilns and overloading are associated with welfare problems in working equids. Understanding equids' abilities and influencing factors are important for both effective performance and welfare. Traditionally, measurement of the amount of 'bone' was used, and more recently, gait symmetry has been identified as a potential marker for loading capacity. Assessment of stride parameters and gait kinematics provides insights into adaptations to loading and may help determine cut-off loads. Physiological factors such as the ability to regain normal heart rates shortly after work is an important tool for equine fitness assessment and a more accurate measure of load-carrying capacity than absolute heart rate. Oxidative stress, plasma lactate, and serum creatine kinase activity are reliable biochemical indicators of loading ability. For monitoring stress, salivary cortisol is superior to serum cortisol level for assessment of hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis and is related to eye temperatures, but this has yet to be interpreted in terms of load-carrying ability in equids. Further research is needed to standardize the evidence-based load-carrying capacity of working horses and donkeys.
发展中国家约有1.12亿头役用马科动物，其中许多与砖窑有关。砖窑作业和超载会给役用马科动物带来福利问题。了解马科动物的能力及其影响因素对于其高效工作和福利都很重要。传统上，人们通过测量“骨骼”数量来评估，最近，步态对称性已被确定为负载能力的一个潜在指标。评估步幅参数和步态运动学能深入了解其对负载的适应性，并有助于确定临界负载。生理因素，如工作后能迅速恢复正常心率的能力，是评估马匹健康状况的重要工具，而且比绝对心率更能准确衡量其负载能力。氧化应激、血浆乳酸和血清肌酸激酶活性是负载能力可靠的生化指标。对于监测应激，唾液皮质醇在评估下丘脑 - 垂体 - 肾上腺轴方面优于血清皮质醇水平，且与眼温有关，但这一点在役用马科动物的负载能力方面尚未得到解读。需要进一步研究来规范工作马和驴基于证据的负载能力。
