Classification of collected trot, passage and piaffe based on temporal variables.

This research aims to identify unique characteristics of horse gaits, specifically collected trot, passage, and piaffe, using temporal variables and discriminant analysis. The study found that these gaits can be reliably differentiated to some extent using stride duration, hindlimb stance, and diagonal advanced placement.

Study Methods and Procedure

• The study used sagittal plane, 60 Hz videotapes of 10 finalists from the dressage competitions at the 1992 Olympic Games. The researchers analyzed these recordings to measure the temporal variables in both absolute terms and as percentages of the stride duration.
• The gait classification was based on several methods: analysis of variance (a statistical method for comparing means), a graphical method, and discriminant analysis (a statistical method for distinguishing distinct sets of observations).

Results and Findings

• According to the research, stride duration alone was enough to distinguish a collected trot from passage and piaffe for all analyzed horses.
• The analysis of variance indicated that the mean values of most variables displayed significant differences between passage and piaffe.
• After plotting hindlimb stance percentages against diagonal advanced placement percentages, the researchers found overlap between all three movements. This means that reliable classification of individual horses’ gaits on this basis alone isn’t always possible.
• Using hindlimb stance percentage and diagonal advanced placement percentage as inputs in a discriminant analysis led to 80% correct gait classification. However, at least one horse was misclassified in each movement.
• When the researchers used the absolute values (instead of the percentage values) of the two variables in the discriminant analysis, they achieved a 90% correct classification rate. Despite this accuracy, some misclassifications occurred, specifically between passage and piaffe. Notably, the two horses with piaffe misclassified as passage were awarded gold and silver medals.

Conclusions

• The study found that higher placed horses tend to have longer diagonal advanced placements, especially in collected trot and passage, and shorter hindlimb stance percentages in passage and piaffe.
• The research suggests that although discriminant analysis using specific temporal variables can help differentiate between horse gaits, it may not always accomplish a perfect differentiation. Given the inconsistency of results between percentage and absolute values of examined variables, further research is needed for more dependable gait differentiation methods.