There is something slightly unnerving about being in a room with a half-tonne horse galloping at nearly 50km per hour on a treadmill. But when that room is part of a cutting-edge laboratory for equestrian sport, and you are surrounded by experts in the field, it is easier to stay calm.

“Don’t worry, the harness the horse is wearing can support 4.5 tonnes,” says Dr Fernando Queiroz, coordinator of the Laboratory for the Evaluation of Equine Performance (LADEq), in a reassuring tone. The lab is part of the National Equestrian Centre, which will host the equestrian competitions at the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Built for the 2007 Pan American Games, the centre will be renovated for 2016, when more than 300 horses will be kept there for the Olympic and Paralympic equestrian competitions. The existing veterinary hospital will be relocated within the site to a new, larger building, while the stables will be expanded. The spectator stands around the dressage and jumping arena will also be increased in size, and a new cross country course will be built.

LADEq is already brimming with expertise. About 20 people work there, carrying out research into equine sports physiology and well-being that results in a regular flow of studies that are published in journals, online and shared with sports organisations. The laboratory, which is part of the Brazilian army’s Horsemanship School, has partnerships with eight Brazilian universities and others in Argentina, Spain, France and Portugal. It also participates in international congresses.

During the Games, the lab will be available to help evaluate the condition of the 314 horses expected to stay at the National Equestrian Centre for the equestrian competitions. The vast majority of these horses (including some from the Brazilian team) will have been flown into Brazil from around the world and transported to the centre, in Rio’s Deodoro district, on special lorries.

LADEq will also be responsible, along with the Ministry of Agriculture, for sanitary control. This will be largely focused on preventing the spread of viruses. In addition, the lab staff will help with the training and preparation of the 44 horses that the Rio 2016 Organising Committee will provide for the modern pentathlon competition, which will also take place at the Deodoro Olympic Park.

The treadmill takes pride of place in the lab. It has a top speed of 15m per second (54km per hour), an incline feature, a sensor that can halt the moving floor in three seconds in an emergency, and the all-important safety harness. It allows the vets to measure the horse’s heart-rate and breathing, and analyse its blood during and after exercise (measuring lactic acid, glucose, red blood cell levels, and enzyme behaviour).

As well as physiological assessment, the treadmill is used for training the horses. “They like galloping on the treadmill, especially in the summer, when it’s fresher in here with the air conditioning,” says Dr Queiroz, who teaches at the Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRRJ).

Next door is a room full of high-tech equipment, where blood tests, muscle biopsies and other important analyses are carried out. Hydrotherapy equipment will be installed for the Games. 

Dr Fernando Queiroz oversees a team of expert researchers in the laboratory at National Equestrian Centre (Photo: Rio 2016/Alex Ferro)

It is clear that in equestrian sport, there are two types of high-performance athletes: those with two legs and those with four. For success at the highest level, both must be treated with equal levels of expert care. “All the horses we have here are athletes,” says Dr Queiroz. “The different thing about our sport is that you have to prepare and think about two athletes – the horse and the rider. It’s all about this partnership.”

The two-legged athletes are also commonly seen at the National Equestrian Centre, which hosts a large number of competitions every year. São Paulo-based Luiza Novaes Tavares de Almeida, 22, represented Brazil in the dressage events at the London 2012 and Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, as well as the Rio 2007 Pan-American Games and 2011 Military World Games, both of which took place at the Deodoro venue.

At a dressage competition at the end of April, she told rio2016.com that the centre’s redevelopment for the 2016 Games would leave an important sporting legacy. “It will be very nice for the Olympic Games but the most important thing is that after the Games it will carry on,” she said. “It will continue to be used and maintained. Hopefully, this will encourage more people to get involved in equestrian and increase awareness of the sport, and this will help it develop.”

Another rider present for the April event was João Victor Marcari Oliva. The 18-year-old son of Brazilian female basketball legend Hortência won three dressage gold medals at the South American Games in Chile in March. “My goal is to compete in the Olympic Games here in Rio,” he said. “It’s going to be amazing and it’s the dream of all Brazilian riders to take part. The National Equestrian Centre needs to be improved but I believe that in 2016 it’s going to be a beautiful venue.”

Oliva’s teammate, 32-year-old Rogerio Clementino, worked his way up from being a groom to become a rider. In 2007 he won bronze in the team dressage event at the Pan-Am Games. “It was an unforgettable experience, competing at home in front of a packed stadium. Now we’re totally focused on the Olympic Games. This venue is excellent, it has great courses and fantastic stands. It has a few things that need to be improved, but these things will be done and we’ll have everything ready for a great event in Rio.”    

Check out the photo gallery from the National Equestrian Centre below: