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Home / Equine Research Bank / Animals (Basel) / Exploring Monthly Variation of Gait Asymmetry During In-Hand...
Animals : an open access journal from MDPI2025; 15(16); 2449; doi: 10.3390/ani15162449

Exploring Monthly Variation of Gait Asymmetry During In-Hand Trot in Thoroughbred Racehorses in Race Training.

Abstract: Based on fundamental mechanics, movement and force associate head and pelvic movement asymmetry with asymmetry of force production. We investigate, how often racehorses undergoing strenuous training regimens show evidence of switching between "preferred" limbs, i.e. one limb producing increased force, when assessed at monthly intervals? We hypothesize that clinical asymmetry thresholds designed for "detecting lameness" are frequently exceeded and that when applying previously established Thoroughbred-specific repeatability values, horses rarely switch between showing left- and right-sided asymmetry. Monthly gait assessments (inertial sensors) were conducted in 256 Thoroughbred racehorses at least twice per horse (up to 16 times per horse). Descriptive statistics for absolute differences for head and pelvic movement were compared to published Thoroughbred-specific repeatability values. The percentage of left-right switches between repeat assessments was calculated in comparison to three different levels of pre-defined thresholds (perfect symmetry, clinical lameness thresholds, previously established Thoroughbred-specific repeatability values) and switch frequencies compared between the three thresholds. Ranges containing 95% of monthly differences were higher than published daily and weekly values except for pelvic vertical range of motion. Approximately 30% of monthly differences in individual symmetry parameters showed left-right switches around "perfect symmetry". Utilizing clinical lameness thresholds for categorizing left-right switches, a significantly ( < 0.001) reduced percentage of 4-11% of measurements for head movement and 7-17% for pelvic movement showed switches. Using daily repeatability values for categorization, a further significantly ( < 0.001) reduced percentage of switches was observed: 0.3-3.6% for head movement and 0.6-7.0% for pelvic movement. While racehorses in training regularly switch between small left- or right-sided movement symmetries, they less frequently switch between more pronounced left- and right-sided movement symmetries defined based on daily variations. Further studies should investigate the reasons for these rare switches.
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Publication Date: 2025-08-20 PubMed ID: 40867777PubMed Central: PMC12383056DOI: 10.3390/ani15162449Google Scholar: Lookup
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Cite This Article

APA
Pfau T, Forbes B, Sepulveda-Caviedes F, Chan Z, Weller R. (2025). Exploring Monthly Variation of Gait Asymmetry During In-Hand Trot in Thoroughbred Racehorses in Race Training. Animals (Basel), 15(16), 2449. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani15162449

Publication

Animals : an open access journal from MDPI
ISSN: 2076-2615
NlmUniqueID: 101635614
Country: Switzerland
Language: English
Volume: 15
Issue: 16
PII: 2449

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.
Forbes, Bronte
  • Hong Kong Jockey Club, Hong Kong, China.
Sepulveda-Caviedes, Fernanda
  • Department of Clinical Science and Services, The Royal Veterinary College, Hatfield AL9 7TA, UK.
Chan, Zoe
  • Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada.
Weller, Renate
  • Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada.

Grant Funding

  • vet/prj/767 / Horserace Betting Levy Board

Conflict of Interest Statement

F.S.-C.’s postdoctoral study has been funded by the Horserace Betting Levy Board. The funder had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript; or in the decision to publish the results. T.P. and R.W. are co-owners of EquiGait Ltd., a company offering gait analysis products and services. Bronte Forbes is an employee of the Hong Kong Jockey Club. The remaining author declares no conflicting interests.

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Citations

This article has been cited 1 times.
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