Interval hypoxic training · Veterinarian-led
Your horse breathes thinned air through a soft mask, in his own box, at rest. The body adapts as it would at altitude — more oxygen-carrying capacity, better lactate clearance, a stronger aerobic engine — with no load on tendon, joint or bone.
The method
Interval Hypoxic Training alternates low-oxygen air with normal or oxygen-enriched air in controlled cycles. The horse stands still throughout. The stimulus is entirely physiological — nothing is asked of the musculoskeletal system.
9–16%
Hypoxia
Thinned air, equivalent to roughly 2,000–4,500 metres of altitude. The controlled shortage that triggers adaptation.
21%
Normoxia
Ordinary stable air, used as the recovery phase between intervals — and for horses in whom enriched oxygen is not indicated.
up to 33%
Hyperoxia
Oxygen-enriched air, restoring saturation quickly between intervals so the whole session is tolerated at rest.
The programme
The hypoxic depth is not fixed — it descends across the programme as the horse adapts, from roughly 2,000 metres on day one to 4,000 by the end. Drag across the chart to follow it.
14-day hypoxic ramp
Equivalent altitude is computed from the inspired oxygen fraction using the international standard atmosphere.
What the research reports
The figures below are from controlled equine studies, not from our own marketing. We would rather you read them before spending anything, and we make no promise about what any individual horse will do.
28%
Run time increase
Against 10% for the same training in normal air — the control group in the same study.
12%
VO₂max
Improvement in maximal oxygen consumption, the standard measure of aerobic capacity.
15%
Cardiac output
Enhanced stroke volume at exhaustion, meaning more blood moved per beat when it matters.
In our own 14-day programme, simulating altitudes of 2,000–4,000 metres at inspired oxygen fractions between 16% and 12%, every test horse showed significant reductions in resting heart and respiratory rates, and measurable gains in performance readiness.
We recommend phased cycles of interval hypoxic training combined with tailored nutrition and recovery planning — not the training in isolation.
What changes inside
Controlled hypoxia activates HIF-1α — hypoxia-inducible factor — which regulates over a hundred genes associated with endurance adaptation.
Who it suits
01 · Performance
For breaking a plateau in a horse that is already well trained, and for building aerobic capacity without adding to an already full workload. Particularly relevant to endurance and flat yards, where the aerobic ceiling is the limiting factor and the training calendar has no spare weeks in it.
02 · Rehabilitation
This is the case that has no real substitute. A horse recovering from injury loses cardiovascular fitness while the tendon or bone heals. Interval hypoxic training delivers a genuine cardiovascular stimulus with no mechanical load at all — fitness maintained through the months when the horse cannot work.
The literature
Honestly
Response varies, and some horses are poor responders. Protocols are adjusted individually, and where a horse is not responding we will tell you rather than sell you another block of sessions.
Depth of hypoxaemia is monitored throughout every session to avoid excessive physiological stress, and every horse is assessed by a veterinarian before the programme begins.
Optimal protocols for each discipline are still under investigation. We follow the published work and our own measurements, and we will say which is which.
Programmes
Both run at the Veterinary Sports Medicine Unit on Sheikh Zayed Road. Every programme begins with a veterinary assessment, and the protocol is set for that horse.
Mountain & Spa
AED 45,000 · 15 sessions
AED 3,000 a session.
Training & Treatment
AED 75,000 · 15 sessions
AED 5,000 a session.
Enquire
Tell us the horse, the discipline and what you are trying to change. We will tell you honestly whether this is likely to help.
+971 4 321 9433
+971 50 321 9405
clinic@primavitadubai.com