Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-8bhkd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-03T08:39:08.396Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Seasonal variations in daily rhythms of activity in athletic horses

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 July 2008

C. Bertolucci ,
C. Giannetto ,
F. Fazio  and
G. Piccione
C. Bertolucci
Affiliation:
Dipartimento di Biologia ed Evoluzione, Università di Ferrara, via L. Borsari 46, 44100 Ferrara, Italy
C. Giannetto
Affiliation:
Dipartimento di Scienze sperimentali e Biotecnologie applicate, Laboratorio di Cronofisiologia Veterinaria, Facoltà di Medicina Veterinaria, Università di Messina Polo Universitario dell’Annunziata, 98168 Messina, Italy
F. Fazio
Affiliation:
Dipartimento di Scienze sperimentali e Biotecnologie applicate, Laboratorio di Cronofisiologia Veterinaria, Facoltà di Medicina Veterinaria, Università di Messina Polo Universitario dell’Annunziata, 98168 Messina, Italy
G. Piccione*
Affiliation:
Dipartimento di Scienze sperimentali e Biotecnologie applicate, Laboratorio di Cronofisiologia Veterinaria, Facoltà di Medicina Veterinaria, Università di Messina Polo Universitario dell’Annunziata, 98168 Messina, Italy
*
E-mail: [email protected]
Get access

Abstract

Circadian rhythms reflect extensive programming of biological activity that meets and exploits the challenges and opportunities offered by the periodic nature of the environment. In the present investigation, we recorded the total activity of athletic horses kept at four different times of the year (vernal equinox, summer solstice, autumn equinox and winter solstice), to evaluate the presence of seasonal variations of daily activity rhythms. Athletic Thoroughbred horses were kept in individual boxes with paddock. Digitally integrated measure of total activity of each mare was continuously recorded by actigraphy-based data loggers. Horse total activities were not evenly distributed over the day, but they were mainly diurnal during the year. Daily activity rhythms showed clear seasonal variations, with the highest daily amount of activity during the vernal equinox and the lowest during the winter solstice. Interestingly, the amount of activity during either photophase or scotophase changed significantly throughout the year. Circadian analysis of horse activities showed that the acrophase, the estimated time at which the peak of the rhythm occurs, did not change during the year, it always occurred in the middle of the photoperiod. Analysing the time structure of long-term and continuously measured activity and feeding could be a useful method to critically evaluate athletic horse management systems in which spontaneous locomotor activity and feeding are severely limited. Circadian rhythms are present in several elements of sensory motor and psychomotor functions and these would be taken into consideration to plan the training schedules and competitions in athletic horses.

Keywords

activitydaily rhythmEquus caballusfeedingseasonal
Type
Full Paper
Information
animal , Volume 2 , Issue 7 , July 2008 , pp. 1055 - 1060
Copyright
Copyright © The Animal Consortium 2008

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Arnold, GW 1985. Ingestive Behaviour. In World animal science A. Basic information. Ethology of farm animals. A Comprehensive study of the behavioural features of the common farm animals (ed. AF Fraser), pp. 183–200. Elsevier, Amsterdam, Oxford, New York, Tokyo.Google Scholar
Arnold, W, Ruf, T, Reimoser, S, Tataruch, F, Onderscheka, K, Schober, F 2004. Nocturnal hypometabolism as an overwintering strategy of red deer (Cervus elaphus). American Journal of Physiology Regulatory Integrative and Comparative Physiology 286, R174–R181.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Arnold, W, Ruf, T, Kuntz, R 2006. Seasonal adjustment of energy budget in a large wild mammal, the Przewalski horse (Equus ferus przewalskii). II. Energy expenditure. Journal of Experimental Biology 209, 4566–4573.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Aschoff J 1962. Spontane lokomotorische aktivitat. In Handbuch der Zoologie 11, 1–74.Google Scholar
Atkinson, G, Reilly, T 1996. Circadian variation in sports performance. Sports Medicine 21, 292–312.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Berger A 1993. Untersuchungen zum Tagesrhythmus beim Przewalskipferd (Equus prezwalskii Poljakov, 1881) im winter. Diplomarbeit HU-Berlin.Google Scholar
Berger, A, Scheibe, KM, Eichhorn, K, Scheibe, A, Streich, J 1999. Diurnal and ultradian rhythms of behaviour in a mare group of Przewalski horse (Equus ferus przewalskii), measured through one year under semi-reserve conditions. Applied of Animal Behaviour Science 64, 1–17.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boy, V, Duncan, P 1979. Time-budgets of Camargue horses I. Developmental changes in the time-budgets of foals. Behaviour 71, 187–201.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boyd, L, Houpt, KA 1994. Przewalski’s horse: the history and biology of an endangered species. State University of New York Press, Albany.Google Scholar
Boyd, LE, Carbonaro, DA, Houpt, KA 1998. The 24-hour time budget of Przewalski horses. Applied of Animal Behaviour Science 21, 5–17.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brown, SA, Schibler, U 1999. The ins and outs of circadian timekeeping. Current opinion in genetics and Development 9, 588–594.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Challet, E, Pevet, P, Vivien-Roels, B, Malan, A 1997. Phase-advanced daily rhythms of melatonin, body temperature, locomotor activity in food-restricted rats fed during daytime. Journal of Biological Rhythms 12, 65–79.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Crowell-Davis, SL 1994. Daytime rest behaviour of the Welsh pony (Equus caballus) mare and foals. Applied of Animal Behaviour Science 40, 197–210.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Daan, S, Aschoff, J 1982. Circadian contribution to survival. In Vertebrate Circadian (ed. J Aschoff, S Daan and G Groos), pp. 305–321. Springer-Verlag System, Berlin.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Damiola, F, Le Minh, N, Preitner, N, Kornmann, B, Fleury-Olela, F, Schibler, U 2000. Restricted feeding uncouples circadian oscillators in peripheral tissues from the central pacemaker in the suprachiasmatic nucleus. Genes & Development 14, 2950–2961.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Davidson, AJ, Menaker, M 2003. Birds of a feather clock together-sometimes: social synchronization of circadian rhythms. Current Opinion in Neurobiology 13, 765–769.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Davis, DE 1976. Hibernation and circannual rhythms of food consumption in marmots and ground squirrels. The Quarterly Review of Biology 51, 477–514.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Drust, B, Waterhouse, J, Atkinson, G, Edwards, B, Reilly, T 2005. Circadian rhythms in sports performance – an update. Chronobiology International 22, 21–44.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Duncan, P 1985. Time-budgets of Camargue horses III. Enviromental influences. Behaviour 92, 188–208.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Elliott, JA, Tamarkin, L 1994. Complex circadian regulation of pineal melatonin and wheel-running in Syrian hamsters. Journal of Comparative Physiology A 174, 469–484.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Esslemont, RJ, Bryant, MJ 1976. Oestrus behaviour in a herd of dairy cows. The Veterinary Record 99, 472–475.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Evans, JW 1990. Anatomy and physiology of reproduction in the mares. In The Horse, 2nd edition (ed. JW Evans, A Borton, H Hintz and LD Van Vleck), pp. 315–353. W. H. Freeman and Company, New York.Google ScholarPubMed
Gachon, F, Nagoshi, E, Brown, SA, Ripperger, J, Schibler, U 2004. The mammalian circadian timing system: from gene expression to physiology. Chromosoma 113, 103–112.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gill, J 1991. A new method for continuous recording of motor activity in horses. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology. A. Comparative Physiology 99, 333–341.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gwinner, E 2003. Circannual rhythms in birds. Current Opinion in Neurobiology 13, 770–778.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Houpt, K, Houpt, TR, Johnson, JL, Erb, HN, Yean, SC 2001. The effect of exercise deprivation on the behaviour and physiology of straight stall confined pregnant mares. Animal Welfare 10, 257–267.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hurnik, JF, King, GJ, Robertson, HA 1975. Estrous and related behaviour in postpartum Holstein cows. Applied Animal Ethology 2, 55–68.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Illnerová, H 1991. The suprachiasmatic nucleus and rhythmic pineal melatonin production. In Suprachiasmatic Nucleus. The Mind’s Clock (ed. DC Klein, RY Moore and SM Reppert), pp. 197–216. Oxford University Press, New York.Google Scholar
Kaseda, Y 1983. Seasonal changes in time spent grazing and resting of Misaki horses. Japan Journal of Zootechnic Science 54, 464–469.Google Scholar
Kurvers, C, van Weeren, RP, Rogers, CW, van Dierendonck, MC 2006. Quantification of spontaneous locomotion activity in foals kept in pastures under various management conditions. American Journal of Veterinary Research 67, 1212–1217.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lincoln, GA, Clarke, IJ, Hut, RA, Hazlerigg, DG 2006. Characterizing a mammalian circannual pacemaker. Science 314, 1941–1944.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mann, TM, Williams, KE, Pearce, PC, Scott, EA 2005. A novel methods for activity monitoring in small non-human primates. Laboratory Animals 39, 169–177.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Martin Rosset, W 1990. L’alimentation des chevaux. INRA, Paris.Google Scholar
Mattner, R, George, JM, Braden, AWH 1974. Herd mating activity in cattle. Journal of Reproduction and Fertility 36, 454–455.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mayes, E, Duncan, P 1986. Temporal patterns of feeding behaviour in free-ranging horses. Behaviour 96, 105–129.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McDonald, LE 1989. Veterinary endocrinology and reproduction. Lea & Febiger, Philadelphia, USA.Google Scholar
Mendoza, J 2007. Circadian clocks: setting time by food. Journal of Neuroendocrinology 19, 127–137.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mistlberger, RE 1994. Circadian food-anticipatory activity: Formal models and physiological mechanisms. Neuroscience and Biobehaviour Review 18, 171–195.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Morgan, K 1998. Thermoregulation zone and critical temperatures of horses. Journal of Thermal Biology 23, 59–61.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Munoz-Delgrado, J, Corsi-Cabrera, M, Canales-Espinosa, D, Santillan-Doherty, AM, Erket, HG 2004. Astronomical and meteorological parameters and rest-activity rhythm in the spider monkey, Ateles geoffroyi. Physiology and Behaviour 83, 107–117.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nelson, K, Tong, JL, Lee, JK, Halbrg, F 1979. Methods for cosinor rhythmometry. Chronobiologia 6, 305–323.Google ScholarPubMed
Piccione, G, Caola, G, Refinetti, R 2005. Temporal relationships of 21 physiological variables in horse and sheep. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology. Part A, Molecular and Integrative Physiology 142, 389–396.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Piccione, G, Bertolucci, C, Caola, G, Foà, A 2007. Effects of restricted feeding on circadian activity rhythms of sheep – a brief report. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 107, 233–238.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pittendrigh, CS 1993. Temporal organization: reflections of a Darwinian clock-watcher. Annual Review of Physiology 55, 17–54.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pittendrigh, CS, Daan, S 1976a. Functional analysis of circadian pacemakers in nocturnal rodents. 1. Stability and lability of spontaneous frequency. Journal of Comparative Physiology 106, 223–252.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pittendrigh, CS, Daan, S 1976b. Functional analysis of circadian pacemakers in nocturnal rodents. 4. Entrainment – pacemaker as clock. Journal of Comparative Physiology 106, 291–331.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Puchalski, W, Lynch, GR 1991. Circadian characteristics of Djungarian hamsters: effects of photoperiodic pretreatment and artificial selection. American Journal of Physiology 261, R670–R676.Google ScholarPubMed
Refinetti, R 2006. Circadian Physiology, 2nd edition. Taylor & Francis Group, Boca Raton.Google Scholar
Ruckebusch, Y 1970. Un probléme controversé: La perte de vigilance chez le cheval et la vache au cours de sommeil. Cahiers de Médecine Vétérinaire 39, 210–225.Google Scholar
Saper, CB, Scammell, TE, Lu, J 2005. Hypothalamic regulation of sleep and circadian rhythms. Nature 437, 1257–1263.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Scheibe, KM, Berher, A, Langbein, J, Streich, WJ, Eichhorn, K 1999. Comparative analysis of ultradian and circadian behavioural rhythms for diagnosis of biorhythmic state of animals. Biological Rhythm Research 30, 216–233.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sokolove, PG, Bushell, WN 1978. The chi square periodogram: its utility for analysis of circadian rhythms. Journal of Theoretical Biology 72, 131–160.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stephan, FK 2002. The “Other” Circadian System: food as a Zeitgeber. Journal of Biological Rhythms 17, 284–292.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stokkan, KA, Yamazaki, S, Tei, H, Sakaki, Y, Menaker, M 2001. Entrainment of the circadian clock in the liver by feeding. Science 291, 490–493.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sumová, A, Bendová, Z, Sládek, M, Kováčikova, Z, Illnerová, H 2004. Seasonal molecular timekeeping within the rat circadian clock. Physiological Research 53, 167–176.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Yoo, SH, Yamazaki, S, Lowrey, PL, Shimomura, K, Ko, CH, Buhr, ED, Siepka, SM, Hong, HK, Oh, WJ, Yoo, OJ, Menaker, M, Takahashi, JS 2004. Period2: luciferase real-time reporting of circadian dynamics reveals persistent circadian oscillations in mouse peripheral tissues. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 101, 5339–5346.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed