The purpose of this study was to investigate the usefulness of salivary cortisol (SC) and eye temperature measured by infrared thermography (IRTET) as biomarkers to manage competitions more effectively and monitor horse welfare in endurance competitions. Based on previous studies, it was hypothesised that preexercise baseline SC and IRTET would be higher in younger or less experienced horses, and that post-exercise variation from baseline would be higher in the top finishers. |
