Comparison of stride characteristics in a cantering horse on a flat and inclined treadmill.

This study evaluated how treadmill slope impacts the stride characteristics of cantering horses. Five Thoroughbred young horses were tested at three different speeds and inclinations. Researchers found both significant and non-significant changes in stride parameters as the slope of the treadmill increased, suggesting a possible adaptation strategy in the horses’ locomotion to maintain stride length despite the increased workload.

Methodology

• The research featured five 2-year-old Thoroughbred horses who were conditioned to canter on a treadmill set at three differing velocities and inclines.
• The sequence of the treadmill speeds at each different slope was randomly selected for each horse to prevent anticipatory bias.
• The researchers collected data through the analysis of 16mm cinefilms. These films were created by recording lateral views of the horses at a distance of 15m from the treadmill and with a rate of 300 frames a second.

Findings

• The researchers found that stride length, stride duration, stance duration, and swing duration were unaffected by the treadmill’s slope changes.
• Contrarily, midstep length increased significantly and the step length during airborne phase decreased significantly as the treadmill slope progressed from a 3% incline to an 8% incline at 12m/s.
• Airborne duration, the time the horse spent in the air between steps, increased significantly when moving from a completely flat (0%) to a slight incline (3%), but noticeably decreased when advancing from a 3% slope to an 8% slope.
• More nuanced data on the advanced placement (AP) between the horses’ leading and trailing limbs, and the overlap between the limbs, showed a mix of increases and decreases when the slope increased – but these changes were not statistically significant.

Implications

• The findings suggest horses maintain their stride length on an incline by altering the length of the airborne period, creating a potential adaptation strategy to handle intense workloads.
• These results could be used to guide training strategies for athletic horses, offering insights on how slope training may affect the horse’s locomotion and fitness level.