Warm-up prior to equestrian competition is considered an essential element of preparation. Little work has been previously published regarding warm-up practices within equine competition in relation to either reducing risk of injury and/or improved performance. This pilot study undertook a comparative investigation into the differences in warm-up practices at two distinctly different levels of show jumping competition. The study indicates that significant differences (P < 0.001) are apparent between the total time spent warming up between the levels of competition. Additionally, differences between various specific elements of warm-up were observed between the two levels.

Despite the high athletic demands of Greyhound racing and recommendations for the inclusion of pre-race warm-up by some veterinarians, the extent of warm-up practices by Greyhound owners and trainers remains unexplored. We postulated that little pre-race warm-up occurred and any warm-up activities were performed at random. A cross-sectional study design was used to examine pre-race warm-up practices in a sample of 80 Greyhounds. Warm-up components were recorded and scores were assigned in order to quantify the total amount of warm-up undertaken. Associations between total warm-up and signalment and race characteristics were analysed statistically. Correlations between total warm-up performed and all variables including race distance, race order, grade of Greyhound and trainer were poor (all r < 0.2). No statistically significant association between total warm-up and any variable examined could be demonstrated at the P = 0.05 level, although a weak trend towards graded Greyhounds performing more warm-up was noted (P = 0.09). We conclude that little pre-race warm-up is performed in Greyhounds and that when practised, the amount and methods of warm-up are inconsistently applied.