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Arabian Mares, Women and Strong Bones: A Primer in Osteoporosis Prevention!Arabian horses are small horses that are famous for their endurance, alacrity, and appearance. Having been domesticated over 1,500 years ago, Arabians represent one of the world's oldest breeds. Highly treasured by the Bedouin tribes, the most prized horses were treated like family. Many horse people today believe the Arabians friendliness towards humans developed in response to their close relationships with their Bedouin masters. These horses were naturally hardy and tough. The Bedouin tribes roamed the Middle Eastern deserts searching for water sources and grazing lands for their camels, sheep and goats. Bedouin horses often had to forgo water for a full day. When grass and grains were scarce, they ate whatever was available especially palm dates and the milk of camels and sheep. The Bedouin preferred small horses because they ate less than larger ones. Mares were preferred because they were gentler than stallions, and believed to be hardier with less sensitivity to heat, thirst or hunger. To gain access to grazing areas, the nomadic Bedouin tribes did much fighting, and they rode their war mares into many battles. A war mare needed to possess courage, speed, agility, and stamina to carry her master to victory. Most of all she needed strength beyond what would be expected from her slight stature.Due to the harsh desert conditions and frequent hostilities, the Bedouins sought to improve their horses' natural survival characteristics by selectively breeding horses to complement desired qualities and minimize undesirable features. Over generations, the results of breeding for desired traits became pronounced and improvements in the horses’ anatomical features reflect their physiological functions. An Arabian horse possesses large nostrils to allow it to breathe in deep quantities of air. Its voluminous windpipe offers little resistance to air as it is drawn into generous lungs, inside its deep chest cavity. It has slender muscles instead of large, bunched-up muscle fibers, so it can trot or canter for long distances without overheating. The horses are strong because they have abundant muscles tied to a compact but dense skeleton. Stronger bones enable them to carry as much weight as larger horses, thus allowing the Arabians to carry their warrior masters with strength and confidence. Mammals including horses and humans all have an original underlying design that has been adapted to the needs and function of each evolving species. Skeletons support, move, and protect. The human skeleton follows the basic design found in over 40, 000 back-boned animal species. Living bones are not pale, brittle and dry as often seen in museum cases. Bone is an active, living tissue. It is composed of one-third water. Nutrient and oxygen rich blood vessels innervate bone, and its has a mesh of nerves that allow for feelings of pressure and pain. Some bones contain marrow that produces vital blood cells. Bone is also a mineral store containing minerals like calcium, magnesium and phosphorous. These minerals are crucial for the development of normal bone, providing for both hardness and structure. When minerals like calcium are short in the diet, necessary minerals will leach from bone to supply other body tissues that may need them more.Bone is dynamic in its perpetual growth and modeling. Its strength, size, and shape developing in direct correlation with the external stresses and demands placed upon it. In essence, bone form follows bone function. Weight bearing exercises increase bone density and strength. Likewise disuse or inactivity leads to progressive thinning and loss of bone. Osteoporosis refers to a group of bone diseases that are characterized by abnormally thin and porous bone tissue. In time reduced bone mass and density result in markedly decreased bone strength. The weakened bones are susceptible to breakage, often from little or no trauma. The rate of osteoporosis increases with age. Age-related bone loss begins around age 40. By age 75, skeletal mass may be one-half what it was at age 30. Bone loss is a natural consequence of aging, but bone fractures need not be inevitable.As in horses, human bone strength can differ between individuals, ethnic groups and races. In general blacks have greater bone strength than both adult whites and Asians. Among European whites, bone loss disease is less common in persons from southern Europe, particularly the Mediterranean basin, than in people from northern Europe.The two most important risk factors for developing osteoporosis are a low bone mass at skeletal maturity and an acceleration of bone loss after female menopause. Females naturally do not achieve the same peak bone mass as males, and during and after the menopause years there is an acceleration of bone loss due to the sharp decrease in estrogen production by the ovaries. Estrogen, the female hormone, serves to maintain bone mass. Thus women are more vulnerable than males to osteoporosis. Eighty percent of its victims are women and one in two women have a lifetime risk of developing fractures due to osteoporosis. For women the risk of developing debilitating fractures from thinning bones is substantially greater than the risk for breast cancer.The symptoms of osteoporosis usually manifest themselves with aging, but the seeds for this illness are sown in a person's childhood and adolescence. The most crucial time for developing strong bones is when we are young, before ages 30 to 35 years, when bone mass reaches its maximum. Teenage girls nowadays are at particular risk. Drinking milk is not as nearly universal in youngsters as in older days; children and teenagers often prefer juices and diet sodas. Dieting to excess may further reduce necessary dietary calcium that is already deficient in many people's daily food intake. Please remember that if the body does not get enough calcium from food intake, it will strip the skeleton to obtain this important mineral element. Dairy products and green leafy vegetables are the best sources of elemental calcium. If you suspect not eating enough of either, please consider talking to your physician or pharmacist about taking calcium supplements.Below are the important risk factors for osteoporosis. Please try to answer them honestly and it is preferable to take a life-long perspective before answering yes or no. Affirmative answers increase your lifetime risk:WomenSmall, thin frameEarly menopause or post menopausalCaucasian (white) or Asian (oriental)Eating disorders (i.e. anorexia nervosa, bulimia)Thyroid disease especially hyperthyroidism Overzealous replacement of thyroid hormone, use of some cancer and anticonvulsant medications, and long-term use of cortisone-like drugs such as prednisone.Family history of osteoporosisSmokingHigh alcohol useLow calcium in dietLifelong physical inactivityFor more information please contact the National Osteoporosis Foundation at 1-800-223-9994. It is never to late in life to develop strong bones or minimize excessive bone loss.If you forget what preventative steps you can take, remember the desert life and needs of an Arabian mare. Requiring and getting plenty of fresh air to breathe. Exercising daily with many weight-bearing activities. Possessing desirable eating habits that allow for a varied diet including milk and grasses-the ultimate calcium-rich, green, leafy vegetable. Never smoking or indulging in excessive alcohol intake. Inheriting from good breeding a family history of strong bones passed on from one generation to the next. And, an infinite love for walking, trotting, cantering, and galloping to ensure the development of strong muscles and dense bones required to carry its beloved master along on their journeys among the Arabian desert dunes. Robert A. Saritelli rides an Arabian mare with only one eye, named 'Dee Gee' at Dapper Dan Farm in Potowomut, RI, located next to the equestrian trails of Goddard State Park. He is (formerly) employed at the University of Rhode Island; and often lectures to elderly audiences on osteoporosis prevention.* ................
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