Comparison of the stride kinematics of the collected, working, medium and extended trot in horses.

This research evaluates the changes in stride length and duration in dressage horses as they transition between different gaits – from collected to working, medium, and extended trot.

Methodology

• The researchers studied six highly trained dressage horses performing different trot transitions (collected, working, medium, and extended) in a sand arena.
• The horses were filmed at a high frame rate of 150 frames per second.
• The research team obtained temporal, linear, and angular data from the film.
• Four different strides were analyzed for each horse and for each type of trot they were performing.

Findings

The researchers primarily found that:

• There showed no significant asymmetries between the left and right limbs or diagonals when considering all horses together. However, three horses did demonstrate asymmetries in one or more variables, reinforcing the individual variations between horses.
• The speed increased significantly as the horses transitioned from the collected trot (at a speed of 3.20 meters per second) to the working trot (at 3.61 meters per second), to the medium trot (at 4.47 meters per second), and finally to the extended trot (at 4.93 meters per second).
• The stride lengths also increased significantly alongside the speed. For instance, the stride length was 250 cm in the collected trot, 273 cm in the working trot, 326 cm in the medium trot, and 355 cm in the extended trot.
• This lengthening of the stride resulted from an increase in the over-reach distance between each gait type.
• Notably, only the extended trot had a significantly longer diagonal distance compared to the collected trot.
• The research also noted a tendency for stride duration to decrease as speed increased. This correlation became significant when the collected and extended trots were compared.

Conclusion

This study highlights the independent changes in stride length from stride duration during trot transitions in dressage horses. As horses move through different types of trot, their speed and stride length increase, while the stride duration tends to decrease. There are also subtle variations between individual horses. These findings can provide valuable insight for trainers working with dressage horses.