www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news...iscover-Jet-Nag.html
So you see - its true, Cape Town horses can run faster in Joburg
Moving horses long distances makes them faster as scientists discover 'Jet Nag'
Flying racehorses long-distance to competitions in other countries can actually make them faster, scientists have claimed after discovering the bizarre phenomenon of 'Jet Nag'.
Researchers found that the horses could run at full pace on a treadmill for 25 seconds longer after the transition than they could previously Photo: REX
By Nick Collins, Science Correspondent7:30AM BST 19 Oct 2011 5 Comments
Unlike humans, horses recover very quickly from the effects of crossing time zones because their bodies are highly sensitive to changes in light and are not strongly attached to a 24-hour cycle.
While travelling long-haul, particularly in an easterly direction, can make us drowsy, slow and cause disrupted sleep, horses adjust themselves almost immediately when exposed to a long period of darkness followed by daylight.
They found that the horses could run at full pace on a treadmill for 25 seconds longer after the transition than they could previously, but this effect had vanished two weeks later.
Dr Domingo Tortonese, who led the study, said: "If you were to fly a horse across a meridian it would be better to do it as close as possible to the race."
Although the horses in the study were not actually subjected to the rigours of a flight, Dr Tortonese said interviews with horse trainers suggested that some had accidentally stumbled across the phenomenon themselves.
While some trainers travel as early as possible to competitions, under the assumption that the animals' body clocks work in the same way as ours, others have noticed an improvement if they travel at the last minute, he said.
A follow-up study found that the horses gained the same benefit when travelling west, Dr Tortonese said, but the animals would only receive a boost if they remained above the equator.
Because horses have a very strong annual body clock, transferring them to a different season would have the opposite effect, he explained.
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