Biochemical Analysis of Athletic Horses around Races

Background: Horses are raised in Mosul for two reasons, mainly as hobby for beauty and racing and for transporting materials and pull carts; therefore, this study was conducted to detect the healthy status of horses during the races. Methods: Study includes 20 animals been clinically normal; blood samples were taken before and after long-term exercise (40 km distance), haematological and biochemical analysis included glucose, urea, calcium, cholesterol, creatinine, total bilirubin (TBL), total protein (TP), alkaline phosphatase, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase, glutamate Gama transferase and Amylase, tow times blood samples were collected: at the beginning of races and after competition complete. Results: Results indicate that a significant P ≤ 0.05 increase in white blood cells count 10.63 × 103 cells/ml, granulocyte 8.16 × 103 cells/ml, red blood cell count 9.77 × 106 cells/ml haemoglobin (Hb) 13.91 g/dL and mean corpuscular Hb concentration 38.61 g/dL and haematocrit 48.97% after exercise, whereas, lymphocytes were decreased 2.49 × 103 cells/ml, biochemical analysis indicate significant increase in glucose, 88.33 mmol/L, urea 26.56 mmol/L, cholesterol 91.33 mmol/L, calcium 15.35 mmol/L, TP 9.64 g/L, TBL 1.077 μmol/L, AST 280U/L, alanine transferase 9.44 U/L and amylase 10.22 U/L. Conclusion: We concluded that horses of study lack a healthy haematological and biochemical status and should be examined before races to predict their ability for competition.