Topic:Kinematics
Kinematics in horses refers to the study of motion without considering the forces that cause it. This field involves analyzing the movement patterns of horses, including gait, stride length, joint angles, and limb trajectories. Kinematic analysis is performed using technologies such as high-speed cameras and motion capture systems to collect data on equine locomotion. This information is valuable for understanding normal and abnormal movement, assessing performance, and identifying potential lameness or injury. The study of kinematics provides insights into the biomechanics of horse movement and contributes to advancements in training, rehabilitation, and veterinary care. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the methodologies, findings, and applications of kinematic analysis in equine science.
Multiple kinetic intermediates accumulate during the unfolding of horse cytochrome c in the oxidized state. The unfolding kinetics of horse cytochrome c in the oxidized state has been studied at 10, 22, and 34 degreesC as a function of guanidine hydrochloride (GdnHCl) concentration. Rapid (millisecond) measurements of far-UV circular dichroism (CD) as well as fluorescence quenching due to tryptophan to heme excitation energy transfer have been used to monitor the unfolding process. At 10 degreesC, the decrease in far-UV CD signal that accompanies unfolding occurs in two phases. The unobservable burst phase is complete within 4 ms, while the slower phase occurs over tens to hundreds of milliseconds. ...
Kinematic symmetry index: a method for quantifying the horse locomotion symmetry using kinematic data. This study was conducted to evaluate a method for quantifying locomotion symmetry at trot in sound and lame horses. Using a 3D kinematic analysis system, the kinematics of the limb joints of sound and lame horses were recorded. The differences in motion between the left and right homologous joints were then quantified using a symmetry index based on an inter-correlation method. This method was used to calculate the symmetry indices of the vertical displacements and angle-time diagrams of the joints of each horse. In order to evaluate the sensitivity of this method of quantifying the locomotion...
Influence of the force applied and its period of application on the outcome of the flexion test of the distal forelimb of the horse. The influence of the force applied and its period of application on the outcome of the flexion test of the distal forelimb was investigated in a group of eight sound horses. The degree of lameness after the flexion test was scored by a standard clinical classification, and by measuring the angle of maximum fetlock extension by means of the infrared light-based MacReflex gait analysis system. There was a good correlation between the clinical score and this electronically recorded kinematic parameter (r = 0.96). Both the force applied and the period of application affected the outcome of the tes...
Modeling study of compensatory head movements in lame horses. To study the role of head movements in lame horses. Methods: 11 Dutch Warmblood horses. Methods: A 2-segment 2-dimensional inverse dynamic model of trotting horses was developed: trunk and head/neck segment joined in a neck joint. Model input consisted of averaged segmental inertial properties and averaged kinematic data, taken from 11 horses, trotting on a treadmill (3.5 m/s) in 3 conditions of induced lameness: sound, mildly lame, and moderately lame. Dynamic and static effects were analyzed. Results: Dynamic effects were found to be considerably larger than static effects. In the moderately...
Components of the total kinetic moment in jumping horses. Thirty horses were filmed with a panning camera operating at 50 frames/s as they jumped over a 1.20 x 1.20 m fence. The markers of 9 joints on the horse and 7 joints on the rider were tracked in 2D with the TrackEye system. The centre of gravity and moment of inertia of each segment were calculated using a geometric algorithm and a cylindric model, respectively. The kinetic moment of each part of the horse was calculated after filtering, and resampling of data. This method showed the relative contribution of each body segment to the body overall rotation during the take-off, jump and landing p...
Kinematics and kinetics of the carpus. This study investigated the kinematics and kinetics of the carpus during the stance phase. Five Standardbred horses trotted on a treadmill at 8.9 m/s. The kinematics of the horses were filmed and hoof reaction forces (HRF) were recorded. The carpus was overextended throughout most of the stance. There were 2 periods of overextension, a more rapid period in the beginning of the stance and second directly following the first period. Maximal overextension occurred slightly before the second minimum of the braking horizontal HRF. The metacarpal and antebrachial segments rotated counter-clockwise f...
Kinematics in horses at the trot before and after an induced forelimb supporting lameness. The aim of this study was to analyse the biokinematic alterations caused by an induced lameness in the right forelimb of Dutch Warmblood (DWB) horses using a system of computer-aided normal videography. Five mature DWB were recorded with a videocamera (frame rate 1/25) from a lateral view before and after an induced lameness. Before videotaping, passive markers were placed on the skin, over easily identifiable anatomical references to determine the joint angles in the forelimb (always on the flexor side). Lameness was induced using special horseshoes. The lameness was evident at the trot and m...
Variability of the limb joint patterns of sound horses at trot. The reproducibility of gait variables for sound horses is essential for the interpretation of their modifications by locomotor disorders. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the variability of the limb joint angle patterns in a population of sound horses while they trotted in the conditions of the routine lameness examination (slow trot, just held by hand, on a track, outdoors). The kinematics of 14 French Saddle horses was recorded using a 3-dimensional (3D) kinematic analysis system. Angle-time diagrams were established in the sagittal plane and their intra- and inter-indivi...
Effects of trot quality and collection on the angular velocity in the hindlimbs of riding horses. The angular velocities of the hindlimb angles of 14 horses, including 6 Grand Prix dressage horses, 4 horses judged as good at the trot and 4 horses judged as poor, were analysed. The horse material was the same as previously used by Holmström (1994) in studies on conformation and trotting gaits in the Swedish Warmblood riding horse. Four consecutive strides of each horse and the corresponding pace were analysed and mean velocity curves (Xh) for each angle were calculated. Before calculation the data were filtered forwards and backwards with a Butterworth third order filter with a cut off fre...
Recovery of equine forelimb function after desmotomy of the accessory ligament of the deep digital flexor tendon. The recovery process of the equine locomotor system after desmotomy of the accessory ligament of the deep digital flexor tendon (AL-DDFT) was investigated by studying the movement patterns and joint moments in 6 horses before and 10 days and 6 months following surgery. Using a modified CODA-3 system the joint angles and angular velocities of the lower limb were assessed in the operated forelimb as before the operation. Simultaneously ground reaction forces were measured and joint moments calculated. At 10 days and 6 months after the operation the carpal joint started to bend earlier in the sta...
Power flow in the equine forelimb. A method is described for the estimation of segmental powers and power flow during the stance phase in the equine forelimb, to demonstrate the sources and paths of energy flow through the limb segments. S-VHS video and force platform data were collected for 5 walking trials in a sound Dutch Warmblood horse. Two camera views were combined using direct linear transformation and the resultant sagittal plane positional and angular data used together with the vertical and cranio-caudal ground reaction forces to calculate moments about the ends of the 4 lowermost segments of the forelimb, and the re...
Effects of treadmill inclination on kinematics of the trot in Dutch Warmblood horses. To evaluate the effects of uphill trotting on stride characteristics, 6 well trained Dutch Warmblood horses trotted at 4 m/s on a horizontal and on an inclined (6%) treadmill. This was done under 3 different conditions, unloaded, mounted by an experienced 90 kg rider and loaded with 90 kg of lead, to study whether extra weight provoked more or different alterations than the incline per se. In all 3 test situations (unloaded, mounted and lead-loaded), heart rates were significantly higher on the inclined treadmill than on the horizontal treadmill. Stride duration tended to increase on the incli...
Comparison of stride characteristics in a cantering horse on a flat and inclined treadmill. The purpose of this study was to determine whether there was any difference in the stride characteristics between cantering on a flat or inclined treadmill. Five 2-year-old Thoroughbred horses were cantered on a treadmill at 3 different velocities and at 3 different slopes. The sequence of speeds at each slope was chosen at random and 16 mm cinefilms at 300 frames/s were taken from a lateral view at a distance of 15 m from the treadmill to record the linear and temporal data. On the slope, stride length, stride duration, stance duration and swing duration did not change. However, midstep lengt...
Kinematic comparison of the leading and trailing fore- and hindlimbs at the canter. The canter is a 3 beat asymmetrical gait with a difference in timing between left and right limbs. To evaluate intralimb asymmetry at the canter, a group of 24 Dutch Warmbloods was evaluated on a treadmill (7 m/s) using a modified CODA-3 optoelectronic gait analysis system. Thirteen horses cantered in the left lead ('leading limb' group) and 11 in the right lead ('trailing limb' group) during left forelimb recordings, while 11 horses were at the left and 13 were at the right lead during left hindlimb recordings. Kinematic differences between horses from the 'leading limb' and 'trailing limb' g...
Analysis of the equine jumping technique by accelerometry. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the relationships between jumping technique and dorsoventral acceleration measured at the sternum. Eight saddle horses of various jumping abilities competed on a selective experimental show jumping course including 14 obstacles. An accelerometric belt fastened onto the thorax continuously measured the dorsoventral acceleration during the course. At each jump, 11 locomotor parameters (acceleration peaks, durations and stride frequency) were obtained from the dorsoventral acceleration-time curves. The type of obstacle significantly influenced the hind...
Effect of added weight on landing kinematics in jumping horses. Six event horses jumped a 1.10 m high table fence 4 times under each of 2 conditions; the rider weight condition involved carrying the weight of the rider and saddle (61 kg), whereas the added weight condition included an additional 18 kg weight cloth. Sagittal view, 60 Hz video recordings were analysed using standard methods. Comparisons between the rider weight and added weight conditions using paired t tests (P<0.05) showed a number of significant differences. In the added weight condition the leading forelimb landed closer to the fence, and there were increases in the maximal extension ...
Classification of collected trot, passage and piaffe based on temporal variables. The objective was to determine whether collected trot, passage and piaffe could be distinguished as separate gaits on the basis of temporal variables. Sagittal plane, 60 Hz videotapes of 10 finalists in the dressage competitions at the 1992 Olympic Games were analysed to measure the temporal variables in absolute terms and as percentages of stride duration. Classification was based on analysis of variance, a graphical method and discriminant analysis. Stride duration was sufficient to distinguish collected trot from passage and piaffe in all horses. The analysis of variance showed that the mea...
Kinematic analysis of the locomotion symmetry of sound horses at a slow trot. This study of the locomotion symmetry was undertaken to provide standard symmetry indices of a group of sound horses at the trot. Using a 3D data collection system, the kinematics of the limb joints of 13 clinically nonlame horses were recorded while trotting in the standard conditions of the clinical lameness examination. A kinematic symmetry indice based on an inter-correlation method was defined and applied to the vertical displacement-time and joint angle-time diagrams of the left and right joints of the horses. For each horse, the mean symmetry indice of each joint was calculated using va...
Comparison of the temporal kinematics of the canter pirouette and collected canter. The objectives were to compare the temporal characteristics of canter pirouette strides with collected canter strides in elite dressage horses, and to determine whether the stride kinematics of the canter pirouettes fulfilled the requirements specified in the Federation Equestre Internationale Rules for Dressage Events. Eleven horses were videotaped (60 fields/s) during the individual medal competition at the 1992 Olympic Games. Temporal variables were extracted from the videotapes using standard methods. Two strides were analysed on each of the left and right leads and these were pooled to gi...
Joint moments and power in equine gait: a preliminary study. A method is described for the estimation of joint moments of force and power in the equine forelimb using S-VHS video and force platform data. Video and force data were collected for 5 walking trials in a sound Dutch Warmblood horse. The sagittal plane positional and angular data were combined with the vertical and cranio-caudal ground reaction forces to calculate net joint moments of force in the sagittal plane across the carpal, fetlock and coffin joints during the stance phase of the forelimb. The mechanical power was calculated as the product of the netjoint moment and the joint's angular ...
Effects of anesthesia of the palmar digital nerves on kinematic gait analysis in horses with and without navicular disease. To determine the effect of local anesthesia of the palmar digital nerves on forelimb kinematics in Quarter Horses with and without navicular disease. Methods: 12 adult Quarter Horses; 5 clinically normal (sound) and 7 with navicular disease. Methods: Kinematic measurements were made on adult horses trotting on a treadmill, before and after palmar digital nerve block (PDNB). Twenty-three displacement, joint angle, and temporal gait measurements of the right forelimb and head were made for 5 strides in each horse. Initial (before local anesthesia) right forelimb measurements were obtained after ...
Instrumentation and techniques in locomotion and lameness. The success of a clinical gait laboratory depends on choosing the right equipment, installing it correctly, running calibration checks, and having skilled technical and professional personnel. For kinematic analysis, videographic or optoelectronic systems are the method of choice, with 2-D data being adequate for the majority of equine evaluations. A force plate provides a precise description of the 3-D ground reaction force; transmission of the force through the body tissues is measured using strain gauges attached to the bones and tendons. Accelerometers bonded to the hoof wall provide infor...
Kinematics of the distal hindlimb during stance phase in the fast trotting standardbred. Fast trotting Standardbred horses were filmed along a straight on an oval dirt track. Five consecutive stance phases were analysed to describe the planar kinematics of the distal hindlimb. The rapid changes in the geometry of the distal hindlimb that occur during the early stance phase were studied. The hoof segment was initially braked vertically and moved in the direction of the horse. The hoof moved forward on the track surface for more than 20% of the stance time (ST). Two specific deviations in the otherwise smooth course of the fetlock joint angle appeared at 16 and 29% of ST. Tarsal ang...
Load redistribution after desmotomy of the accessory ligament of the deep digital flexor tendon in adult horses. An analysis of joint moments was used to study the biomechanical implications, load redistribution and kinematic pattern following desmotomy of the accessory ligament of the deep digital flexor tendon (AL) in adult horses. Recordings of 6 sound horses were made before and 10 days after desmotomy of the AL of the right forelimb at the walk and the trot. Kinematic recordings of the right forelimb and the left distal forelimb were made using the CODA-3 system. Kinetic recordings of the ground reaction forces in both forelimbs were made using a Kistler force plate simultaneously with the kinematic...
Are kinematics of the walk related to the locomotion of a warmblood horse at the trot? In purchase examinations or at studbook selection sales the locomotor apparatus of horses is judged both at walk and trot. To evaluate whether kinematics of the walk are related to the locomotion at the trot, fore and hind limb movements of a group of 24 26-month-old warmbloods were recorded at walk and trot on a treadmill (1.6 and 4 m/s) using a modified CODA-3 gait analysis system. The intralimb coordination patterns at walk and trot were compared, and temporal and spatial variables of these gaits were related. Stride and stance durations (s) were shorter at the trot, while the stance distan...
Head and trunk movement adaptations in horses with experimentally induced fore- or hindlimb lameness. The kinematic patterns of head and trunk were studied in horses during induced supporting limb lameness to understand the mechanisms horses use to compensate for lameness and to evaluate different symmetry indices for their significance as lameness indicators. Using the locomotion analysis system CODA-3 the kinematics of 11 clinically nonlame Dutch Warmblood horses were recorded while walking (1.6 m/s) and trotting (3.5 m/s) on a treadmill. A transient lameness model, evoking pressure induced pain on the hoof sole, was used to induce 3 degrees of fore- and hindlimb lameness. Peak vertical disp...
Limb movement adaptations in horses with experimentally induced fore- or hindlimb lameness. The kinematic patterns of all limbs of 11 clinically nonlame Dutch Warmblood horses were studied during induced supporting limb lameness to gain insight into the compensation mechanisms horses use to manage lameness and to test kinematic limb variables for their significance as lameness indicators. Using the locomotion analysis system CODA-3, the kinematics of the horses were recorded while walking (1.6 m/s) and trotting (3.5 m/s) on a treadmill. A transient lameness model, evoking pressure on the hoof sole, was used to induce 3 degrees of fore- and hindlimb lameness. Joint angle patterns and ...
Energy comparison between trot, bound, and gallop using a simple model. In this paper, the dynamics of quadruped trot, gallop, and bound will be examined using a simple model for the quadruped. The body of the quadruped is modeled as a uniform bar and the legs are modeled by massless springs. It will be shown that symmetry can be used to study the locomotion of this system. Using symmetry, a technique will be developed to obtain periodic solutions for each of the gaits of the quadruped model. These periodic solutions will be computed at various speeds. The energy levels will be compared for each of the gaits. The exchange of energy between its different forms will...
Kinematic differences between the distal portions of the forelimbs and hind limbs of horses at the trot. In literature, it has been hypothesized that the concussion at impact in the equine forelimb is larger than that in the hind limb, and therefore, eventually more clinical lameness may develop in the distal portion of the forelimbs. As the functional anatomy of the distal forelimb and hind limb segments is similar, a study was undertaken to compare the kinematics of hoof and fetlock in the forelimbs and hind limbs. For this purpose, the trot of 24 clinically normal (sound) horses on a treadmill (4 m/s) was recorded, using modern gait analysis equipment. It appeared that vertical hoof velocity a...