NEWS NOTES

Tackling the Heat of the Tokyo Olympics

The Tokyo Olympics, which were delayed by COVID- 19, will take place in the heat and humidity of the Japanese summer, in temperatures likely to reach more than 105° F. To help involved veterinarians keep equine athletes safe in such heat, the Equine Veterinary Journal is giving free-to-read access to articles covering the health and welfare of horses competing in hot and humid conditions.

The Special Collection Preparing for Tokyo Olympics contains 11 highly relevant papers together with a comprehensive editorial forward from Christopher Elliott.

“This is not the first time that extreme heat and humidity has challenged the viability of Equestrian events at the Olympic Games,” said Christopher Elliott, DVM, DACVSMR. “It is vital that we learn from the past to ensure the welfare of equine athletes in the future.”

The special collection highlights the groundbreaking research, which followed the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.

“This work revolutionized our understanding of managing equine athletes in hot and humid conditions,” Dr. Christopher said. “It optimized identification and management of heat stress and allowed practical solutions to cooling methods to be established, enabling the successful running of the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.”

Leading up to the 2008 Beijing Olympics, another concerted effort by veterinary researchers further advanced understanding, and it is on the back of this work that recent literature about equine heat stress and optimized cooling methods has been established. The special collection explores:

• Physiological, metabolic and biochemical responses of horses competing in the speed and endurance phase of a 3-day event

• Physiological responses to the endurance test of a 3-day-event during hot and cool weather

• Physiological responses of horses competing at a modified 1-Star, 3-day event

• Adaptations to daily exercise in hot and humid ambient conditions in trained Thoroughbred horses

• Sweating rate and sweat composition during exercise and recovery in ambient heat and humidity

• Physiological responses of horses to a treadmillsimulated speed and endurance test in high heat and humidity before and after humid heat acclimation

• Comparison between 2 post-exercise cooling methods

• Contributions of equine exercise physiology research to the success of the 1996 Equestrian Olympic Games: a review

• An index of the environmental thermal load imposed on exercising horses and riders by hot weather conditions

• Use of the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) Index to quantify environmental heat loads during 3-day-event competitions

• Risk factors for exertional heat illness in Thoroughbred racehorses in flat races in Japan (2005–2016)

For more information:

Access the collection here. https://beva.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/hub/journal/20423306/homepage/sc_olympics