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Home / Equine Research Bank / Sensors (Basel) / Dirt Track Surface Preparation and Associated Differences in...
Sensors (Basel, Switzerland)2024; 24(8); 2441; doi: 10.3390/s24082441

Dirt Track Surface Preparation and Associated Differences in Speed, Stride Length, and Stride Frequency in Galloping Horses.

Abstract: In racehorses, the risk of musculoskeletal injury is linked to a decrease in speed and stride length (SL) over consecutive races prior to injury. Surface characteristics influence stride parameters. We hypothesized that large changes in stride parameters are found during galloping in response to dirt racetrack preparation. Harrowing of the back stretch of a half-mile dirt racetrack was altered in three individual lanes with decreasing depth from the inside to the outside. Track underlay compaction and water content were changed between days. Twelve horses (six on day 2) were sequentially galloped at a target speed of 16 ms across the three lanes. Speed, stride frequency (SF), and SL were quantified with a GPS/GNSS logger. Mixed linear models with speed as covariate analyzed SF and SL, with track hardness and moisture content as fixed factors ( < 0.05). At the average speed of 16.48 ms, hardness (both < 0.001) and moisture content (both < 0.001) had significant effects on SF and SL. The largest difference in SL of 0.186 m between hardness and moisture conditions exceeded the 0.10 m longitudinal decrease over consecutive race starts previously identified as injury predictor. This suggests that detailed measurements of track conditions might be useful for refining injury prediction models.
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Publication Date: 2024-04-11 PubMed ID: 38676058PubMed Central: PMC11054522DOI: 10.3390/s24082441Google Scholar: Lookup
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  • Journal Article

Summary

This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.

The research investigates how different preparations of dirt racetracks, specifically changes in hardness and moisture, can impact a racehorse’s speed, stride length (SL) and stride frequency (SF). It suggests that the differences observed due to track conditions could be significant enough to refine injury prediction models for racing horses.

Objective of the Research

  • The primary goal of this study was to test whether changes in the preparation of a dirt race track, specifically alterations in hardness and moisture, influence the speed, stride length (SL) and stride frequency (SF) of galloping horses.

Methodology

  • The research was conducted on a half-mile dirt racetrack where harrowing (the act of breaking up and smoothing out the dirt) was performed differently in three individual lanes. The depth of the harrowing decreased from the inside to the outside lane.
  • Variables like track underlay compaction and water content were purposely changed between days.
  • In total, twelve horses (six on day 2) were sequentially galloped at a target speed of 16 ms across the three different lanes.
  • Data regarding the horse’s speed, SF and SL were gathered using a GPS/GNSS logger.
  • Mixed linear models were then used to analyze the collected data, considering speed as a covariate and track hardness and moisture content as fixed factors.

Findings

  • At an average speed of 16.48 ms, both hardness (both p < 0.001) and moisture content (both p < 0.001) showed significant effects on both SF and SL.
  • The most significant difference found in SL between varying hardness and moisture conditions was 0.186 m. This change was noticeable and exceeded the previously identified injury predictor – a decrease of 0.10 m in SL over consecutive race starts.

Implications

  • The findings suggest that the condition and preparation of the dirt track, specifically in terms of hardness and moisture, could significantly affect a horse’s performance in terms of speed, stride frequency and stride length.
  • This information has crucial implications for injury prediction as it could lead to refinement of models that predict injury based on changes in stride length across races.

Cite This Article

APA
Pfau T, Bruce OL, Sawatsky A, Leguillette R, Edwards WB. (2024). Dirt Track Surface Preparation and Associated Differences in Speed, Stride Length, and Stride Frequency in Galloping Horses. Sensors (Basel), 24(8), 2441. https://doi.org/10.3390/s24082441

Publication

Sensors (Basel, Switzerland)
ISSN: 1424-8220
NlmUniqueID: 101204366
Country: Switzerland
Language: English
Volume: 24
Issue: 8
PII: 2441

Researcher Affiliations

Pfau, Thilo
  • Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada.
  • Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada.
Bruce, Olivia L
  • Department of Biomedical Engineering, Schulich School of Engineering, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada.
  • McCaig Institute for Bone and Joint Health, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada.
Sawatsky, Andrew
  • Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada.
Leguillette, Renaud
  • Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada.
Edwards, W Brent
  • Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada.
  • Department of Biomedical Engineering, Schulich School of Engineering, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada.
  • McCaig Institute for Bone and Joint Health, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada.

MeSH Terms

  • Animals
  • Horses / physiology
  • Biomechanical Phenomena / physiology
  • Gait / physiology
  • Running / physiology

Grant Funding

  • Wearable Technology Research and Collaboration Training (We-TRAC) program (Graduate studentship OLB) / Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council

Conflict of Interest Statement

T.P. is the co-owner of EquiGait Ltd., a company providing gait analysis products and services. The remaining authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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Citations

This article has been cited 1 times.
  1. van den Broek M, Chan ZYS, De Bruyne C, Garcia-Alamo K, Skotarek Loch S, Pfau T. Association Between Stride Parameters and Racetrack Curvature for Thoroughbred Chuckwagon Horses. Sensors (Basel) 2025 Dec 4;25(23).
    doi: 10.3390/s25237376pubmed: 41374751google scholar: lookup
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