Horizontal moment around the hoof centre of pressure during walking on right and left circles.
Abstract: Recent research indicates that the digital joints experience some degree of extrasagittal motion during stance and that the moments under the hoof are asymmetric in horses walking in a straight line. On a circle, these have not been defined. Objective: To quantify the amplitude and symmetry of horizontal twisting moments around the vertical axis through the hoof's centre of pressure on left and right circles at walk. Methods: Six Thoroughbred horses were led at walk across a Kistler force platform on a left and a right circle of 5 m radius. The resultant moment around the hoof was calculated from the 4 horizontal forces and their moment arms. Results: Five of the 6 horses exerted an internal moment around their left forehoof, and 4 exerted an internal moment around their right forehoof on the left circle. On the right circle, 5 of the 6 exerted an internal moment around the left forehoof and a weak external moment around the right forehoof. The moments under the hind hooves were bilaterally similar for right and left circles. Conclusions: Intrahorse variability in the applied moments is low, but there is some interhorse variability, especially in the forelimb moments, that indicates future studies of movements of the distal limb joints should be bilateral to account for mechanical asymmetry. Conclusions: The finding that horizontal moments vary between forelimbs in some horses will apply to how exercise on a circle is approached, especially in rehabilitation programmes for horses with orthopaedic injury of the distal limb.
© 2010 EVJ Ltd.
Publication Date: 2011-05-20 PubMed ID: 21592214DOI: 10.1111/j.2042-3306.2010.00146.xGoogle Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
Summary
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This research investigates the twisting forces experienced by horse’s hooves, while walking on left and right-turning circles, exploring how these forces may impact joint health particularly in rehabilitation scenarios.
Study Overview
- The study was conducted to understand the twist in a horse’s foot while walking on a circle, specifically to measure the magnitude and symmetry of these twisting moments around the vertical axis of the hoof’s center of pressure.
- This was done to provide comparisons to previous research, which had shown asymmetrical force movement during straight line walking.This research helps to better understand the mechanics of how horses move on circles which contributes to the design of rehabilitation exercises.
Methodology
- Six Thoroughbred horses underwent tests by walking across a force-measuring platform. This was done on both a left and right turning circle of 5m in diameter.
- The total twist or “moment” around the hoof was calculated based on the four horizontal forces and their moment arms (distance from the pivot point, essentially)
Results
- The results showed that an internal twisting moment was felt by five out of six horses when their left front hoof was on the left circle, with four out of six horses experiencing the same during right circular movement.
- On the right turning circle, an internal moment was recorded on the left front hoof for five out of six horses, while a weak external moment was experienced on the right front hoof.
- Interestingly, the forces felt by the back hooves were the almost same while walking in both right and left circles.
Conclusion
- While there existed some degree of variation between the horses, largely, this study indicates that the moments across hooves can vary significantly.
- This fact implies that future studies of movements in the lower limb joints should consider both the left and right limbs to account for this mechanical asymmetry.
- This study also suggests that consideration should be given to how circular exercises might be utilised, particularly in programs geared towards horse rehabilitation.
Cite This Article
APA
Heaps LA, Franklin SH, Colborne GR.
(2011).
Horizontal moment around the hoof centre of pressure during walking on right and left circles.
Equine Vet J, 43(2), 190-195.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2042-3306.2010.00146.x Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Departments of Clinical Veterinary Science and Anatomy, Faculty of Medical and Veterinary Sciences, University of Bristol, UK.
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Biomechanical Phenomena
- Female
- Forelimb
- Functional Laterality
- Hindlimb
- Hoof and Claw / physiology
- Horses / physiology
- Male
- Pressure
- Walking / physiology
Citations
This article has been cited 2 times.- Byström A, Egenvall A, Roepstorff L, Rhodin M, Bragança FS, Hernlund E, van Weeren R, Weishaupt MA, Clayton HM. Biomechanical findings in horses showing asymmetrical vertical excursions of the withers at walk. PLoS One 2018;13(9):e0204548.
- Paśko S, Dzierzęcka M, Purzyc H, Charuta A, Barszcz K, Bartyzel BJ, Komosa M. The Osteometry of Equine Third Phalanx by the Use of Three-Dimensional Scanning: New Measurement Possibilities. Scanning 2017;2017:1378947.
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