Horseman’s Seminar
Intended for riders and trainers in all disciplines, this seminar featured three important but different perspectives on preparing sport horses for competition.
Targeted Conditioning for Specific Disciplines • Dr. Hilary Clayton
Dr. Hilary Clayton explained training and conditioning, two basic concepts of sport horse development, and addressed targeted conditioning for specific disciplines. While all horses require baseline conditioning to boost aerobic capacity and strengthen muscles, specialized training and conditioning are then required based on the desired discipline. Levels of endurance, strength, and work intensity differ among disciplines, and horses must be appropriately conditioned for maximal performance and soundness.
Nutritional Factors for Optimal Performance • Dr. Katie Young
Dr. Katie Young identified nutritional factors that can optimize performance. Understanding how various energy sources can be manipulated to provide or replace the energy used during exercise can help trainers and owners choose the best feeding strategy for sport horses. These discipline-specific nutritional approaches are underscored by years of exercise physiology research and, more importantly, through everyday use on top-flight sport horses.
Tracking Up: The Importance of Exercise Monitoring • Dr. Emmanuelle Van Erck
Dr. Emmanuelle Van Erck discussed the importance of exercise monitoring, which is defined as the tracking of objective measures to ensure horses are not over-trained or pushed beyond their physical limits when preparing for competition or returning to training after lay-up. By beginning with baseline measurements, such as heart rate, lactate levels, and recovery trends, and continuing with routine measurements, the fitness of sport horses can be followed over time, which may alert riders to potential setbacks as training progresses.
Invited Speakers
The Horseman’s Seminar featured leading industry professionals as speakers alongside the Kentucky Equine Research technical staff.
Hilary Clayton, BVMS, PhD, DACVSMR, FRCVS
Dr. Hilary Clayton is a veterinarian and scientist who, for more than 40 years, has researched the areas of locomotor biomechanics, lameness, rehabilitation, and conditioning programs for equine athletes, and the interaction between rider, tack, and horse. She served as the Mary Anne McPhail Dressage Chair in Equine Sports Medicine at Michigan State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine from 1997 until she retired from academia in 2014. She has published seven books and more than 200 scientific articles on these topics. She continues to perform collaborative research with colleagues at universities around the world. Clayton is a charter diplomate and past president of the American College of Veterinary Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation. She is an Honorary Fellow of the International Society for Equitation Science and has been inducted into the International Equine Veterinarians Hall of Fame. She is a lifelong rider and has competed in many equestrian sports, most recently focusing on dressage.
Emmanuelle van Erck, DVM, PhD, DECEIM
Dr. Emmanuelle Van Erck practices equine sports medicine in France and Belgium. She graduated from the Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire de Maison Alfort and later received her doctorate on respiratory function tests in horses at the University of Liege in Belgium. Her work led to research projects in equine sports medicine at Cornell University and at Uppsala University, and these experiences triggered her passion for equine sports medicine. She then became senior consultant at the Centre for Equine Sports Medicine at the University of Liege, where she dealt with referred cases in sports medicine, participated to numerous research projects, and collaborated in the training of veterinary students. She is the author of more than 40 scientific articles and regularly lectures at international scientific meetings. She was appointed team veterinarian for Belgium and has served as president of the Belgian Equine Practitioners Society.
Kentucky Equine Research Technical Staff
Katie Young, PhD
Dr. Katie Young received her bachelor’s degree from Missouri State University in biology, with minors in animal science and chemistry, and earned her doctorate from Texas A&M University in equine nutrition and exercise physiology. Her graduate research focused on mineral balance in resting and exercising horses, and the effects of fat-added diets on sweat production in working horses. Dr. Young has extensive experience in horse feed formulation, quality control and production, customer service and communication, sales and sales training, marketing, and regulatory and labeling requirements for equine feed.