Accelerometric and dynamometric measurements of the impact shock of the equine forelimb and hindlimb at high speed trot on six different tracks – preliminary study in one horse.

This study investigates the effects of different track surfaces on the impact shock experienced by a horse’s forelimb and hindlimb during a high speed trot. It aims to understand the risks associated with repetitive loading and potential damage to the equine subchondral bone, a common cause of osteoarthritis in horses and humans.

Research Background

• The research revolves around understanding the impact shock, a phenomenon that’s often associated with foot-ground interaction during the initial stage of the stance phase.
• This impact shock, due to its repetitive occurrence, is believed to pose a risk of developing harm to the subchondral bone, leading potentially to osteoarthritis in both horses and humans.
• For measuring this high frequency impact shock, accelerometry is generally used.
• In horses, the method of assessing the hoof’s vertical deceleration at impact has proven useful to compare different track surfaces.

Limited Prior Studies

• There are not many studies comparing surfaces for trotters at high speed, and none of them include measurement of surfaces’ hardness.
• Additionally, even though lameness in the hindlimb is frequent in trotters, comparative data between the impact shock in the forelimbs and hindlimbs is limited, particularly at slower speeds.

Theory & Hypothesis

• The theory assumes that forces exerted on the hoof at impact are relatively low since only the mass of the distal digit interacts during the collision.
• Under the hypothesis that the hoof acts as a passive mass encountering the ground, it’s possible to evaluate this ‘effective mass’ using a dynamometric horseshoe paired with an accelerometer attached to the hoof wall.
• In this context, effective mass is determined by the principle that total external forces equal mass times acceleration.

Objectives of the Study

• The primary research goal was to compare the forces and accelerations exerted at impact on both the forelimb and hindlimb distal (farthest away from the center of the body).
• The study also aims to calculate the corresponding effective mass of a horse trotting at high speeds on six different tracks, with varying levels of hardness.