Kinematics of the standardbred trotter measured at 6, 7, 8 and 9 m/s on a treadmill, before and after 5 months of prerace training.

The study is about how the movement characteristics of young Standardbred horses change after they undergo a training regime.

Objective of the Study

• The main purpose of the study was to investigate the changes in the movement characteristics, or kinematics, of young Standardbred horses before and after an intensive training period. In other words, the study aimed to determine how a horse’s pattern of movement changes as a result of training.

Methods Employed

• The subjects of the study were eight Standardbred stallions. They were studied at 21-23 months of age, and again after they had completed five months of intensive training.
• The horses’ movements were recorded using a modified CODA-3 optoelectronic system while they were running on a treadmill at various speeds (6, 7, 8, and 9 m/s).
• Kinematic characteristics including linear and temporal gait, joint angle diagrams, and the trajectories of the hoof were studied. The trajectory of the hoof was studied in a plane perpendicular to the direction of the horse’s movement.

Findings of the Study

• In general, the joint angle diagrams indicated similar movement patterns for all the horses, though there were individual variations.
• Following the training period, only a few kinematic parameters exhibited significant changes.
• The researchers also noted clear differences between the front and hind hooves in terms of their trajectories. Notably, the hoof trajectories were found to be very individualistic, each horse displaying a unique pattern. The researchers hypothesized that these individual hoof trajectory patterns could potentially serve as a unique identifier or ‘fingerprint’ for a horse.

Implications of the Study

• The findings of this study could provide valuable insights for equestrian trainers, as understanding the changes in a horse’s kinematics after training could aid in better training design and could possibly be used for predicting and improving a horse’s performance.
• The identification of unique hoof trajectory patterns might also have potential applications in horse identification or in studies focusing on individual horse gait characteristics.
• Further studies could explore these ‘hoof fingerprints’ in more detail, and investigate how they are influenced by various factors such as age, breed, or types and length of training.