Abstract
This study was conducted to determine the effect of a progressive-resistance jumping exercise on growth, development and meat quality in sheep. Exercised sheep did not differ from control sheep in their live animal performance or in the proportion of muscle, fat and bone in the carcass, indicating the low energy cost of this exercise. The use of platform jumps rather than hurdle jumps resulted in a significant contribution of muscles in the forelimbs to the jumping motion. As a result, flexors of the elbow joint were a significantly larger proportion of total muscle weight in the exercised sheep. Muscle samples from the vastus lateralis in exercised sheep had lower Warner-Bratzler shear (P = 0.09) and Kramer Press-Ground (P = 0.04) scores than their control counterparts. The reason for the increased tenderness as a result of exercise is unknown, but there was no evidence that it resulted from muscular hypertrophy. Key words: Sheep, exercise, body composition, tissue distribution, meat quality
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