| Title | Heart rate and salivary cortisol concentrations in foals at birth. | ||
| Author | Nagel, C; Erber, R; Ille, N; Wulf, M; Aurich, J; Mostl, E; Aurich, C | ||
| Journal | Vet J | Publication Year/Month | 2015-Feb |
| PMID | 25582796 | PMCID | -N/A- |
| Affiliation + expend | 1.Graf Lehndorff Institute for Equine Science, Vienna University of Veterinary Sciences, Neustadt (Dosse) 16845, Germany. Electronic address: Christina.Nagel@vetmeduni.ac.at. | ||
Heart rate (HR), HR variability (HRV) and salivary cortisol concentrations were determined in foals (n = 13) during the perinatal phase and until 5 months of age. In the fetus, HR decreased from 77 +/- 3 beats/min at 120 min before birth to 60 +/- 1 beats/min at 5 min before birth (P <0.01). Within 30 min of birth, HR increased to 160 +/- 9 beats/min (P <0.01). Salivary cortisol concentrations immediately after birth were 11.9 +/- 3.6 ng/mL and within 2 h increased to a maximum of 52.5 +/- 12.3 ng/mL (P <0.01). In conclusion, increases in HR and salivary cortisol concentrations in foals are not induced during parturition, but occur immediately after birth.