Nutritional ergogenic aids in the horse - uses and abuses

摘要

If one imagines two horses with identical genetic makeup with equal physiological ability, ridden by jockeys with equal riding skill and with the same way of riding a race, being raced against each other, all things being equal the two horses shouldfinish at exactly the same time. But what if one of the horses were given 'formula X' to improve its performance, enabling it to win outright. 'Formula X,' in this case, is an ergogenic aid. The term ergogenic comes from the Greek 'ergon' meaning work and 'genie' meaning producing. An ergogenic aid therefore can be used to describe any factor which can increase or improve work production. This could result in an increase in speed or endurance or strength. A number of factors could have caused the improved performance in our example and have been shown to be important in man, including: 1. Psychological factors; 2. Mechanical or biomechanical factors including improved equipment (shoes, track design etc.); 3. Pharmacological agents; 4. Physiological improvements (including most importantly those obtained through training); 5. Nutritional supplements.