# The Effect of Victory and Defeat on the Correlations of Stress Parameters Between the Horse and Rider in Kök‐Börü Equestrian Teams

## TL;DR

This study examines how winning or losing in the traditional equestrian game Kök-Börü affects stress and physiological correlations between horses and riders.

## Contribution

The study provides new insights into how victory and defeat influence stress-related parameters in horse-rider teams during traditional equestrian sports.

## Key findings

- Winning teams showed both positive and negative correlations in biochemical and haematological parameters.
- Losing teams exhibited significant changes in hormonal parameters before and after the game.
- Victory and defeat had no significant impact on correlations between haematological and biochemical parameters.

## Abstract

The presented study outlines a research plan aimed at determining the effects of winning and losing situations on the relationship levels between the rider and horse's stress, metabolic, and physiological parameters in Kök‐Börü, a traditional equestrian team game. For this purpose, blood samples were collected from both the horses and riders of four different teams participating in two different Kök‐Börü games before and after the games. Cortisol, ACTH, beta‐endorphin, epinephrine, norepinephrine, T3 and T4 analyses were performed on the collected blood samples using species‐specific commercial ELISA kits. Additionally, biochemical and haematological parameters in the same blood samples were tested using an autoanalyser. Based on the obtained data, it was found that there were both positive and negative correlations between most biochemical and haematological parameters of the winning teams' horses and riders before and after the game. However, when examining the correlations between the hormonal parameters of the winning teams' horses and riders before the game, only a negative correlation was found between ACTH and T4 (‐0.529, p < 0.05), and no positive correlation was identified among any hormonal parameters. In conclusion, it was interpreted that in the equestrian team sport of Kök‐Börü, there are significant changes in the hormonal parameters, especially before and after the game, between the horses and riders of the losing teams. Furthermore, it was concluded that winning and losing situations in Kök‐Börü games did not have a significant impact on the correlations between haematological and biochemical parameters before and after the game for both the horses and riders.

Kök‐Börü, a favoured traditional equestrian sport in Asia countries.

The relationship between riders and horses.

The performance of both rider and horse can be influenced by their relationship

Stress‐related physiological responses between horses and riders