Should We Agree to Disagree? An Evaluation of the Inter-Rater Reliability of Gait Quality Traits in Franches-Montagnes Stallions.
Abstract: Gait quality, that is, the way horses move according to functional and aesthetic principles, englobes many traits that are scored by experts during breeding competitions. The experts can score a trait on a subjective valuating (SV) scale or on a linear profiling (LP) scale representing the biological extremes of the population. However, the reliability of the appraisal of gait quality traits has not been extensively evaluated. In this study, seven breed experts appraised the walk and trot quality of 24 Franches-Montagnes stallions presented in hand on a sand track. Inter-rater reliabilities of six traits (five SV and one LP) at the walk and eight traits (five SV and three LP) at the trot were estimated with intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs). The inter-rater reliabilities were poor (ICC < 0.50). The scale anchoring varied between experts, and the variance of scores was low. There were no systematic differences in inter-rater reliability between LP and SV traits. Future studies should determine whether the inter-rater reliabilities may be increased by a more precise definition of the scores within each trait to improve the absolute agreement between experts, by a more uniform scale anchoring between experts, and by decreasing the number of scale items. However, considering the inherent limitations of the human eye in observing high-speed movement, the use of a field-applicable kinematic measurement system may support breeding experts in the appraisal of gait quality traits in the future.
Copyright © 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Publication Date: 2020-01-22 PubMed ID: 32303302DOI: 10.1016/j.jevs.2020.102932Google Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
- Research Support
- Non-U.S. Gov't
Summary
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This research focused on the reliability and agreement among expert breeders in assessing gait quality traits of Franches-Montagnes stallions and concluded that there was considerable variability, suggesting the need for more precise scale definitions and possibly the aid of a kinematic measurement system.
Study Overview
- The research was carried out to assess the reliability and consistency among breeder evaluation of gait quality traits in Franches-Montagnes stallions.
- 24 Franches-Montagnes stallions were observed by seven breed experts who used two different scales – Subjective Valuating (SV) scale and Linear Profiling (LP) scale to assess gait.
- The evaluation was conducted on a sand track, replicating competition conditions, focusing on walk and trot quality of the horses.
Methodology
- Two types of scales were used in this study – the Subjective Valuating (SV) scale and Linear Profiling (LP) scale. These are used to represent biological traits in the horses from an aesthetic or functional perspective.
- During the evaluation, six traits at the walk (five SV and one LP) and eight traits at the trot (five SV and three LP) were assessed.
- The consistency of these appraisals were measured using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) to calculate inter-rater reliability.
Main Findings
- The inter-rater reliability turned out to be poor as the ICC values obtained were less than 0.50, indicating low agreement among the experts.
- There was observed variance in the way scales were used by different experts, and the score variance was found to be low.
- No significant difference was found in reliability between the use of LP and SV traits.
Suggestions for Future Research
- The researchers suggest conducting future studies to improve the accuracy and consistency of these evaluations by defining more precise scoring parameters for each trait.
- Standardizing the use of scales among experts to produce uniform results is also recommended.
- To overcome the natural limitations of human eye in observing high speed movements, the use of a field-applicable kinematic measurement system is recommended.
Cite This Article
APA
Gmel AI, Gmel G, von Niederhäusern R, Weishaupt MA, Neuditschko M.
(2020).
Should We Agree to Disagree? An Evaluation of the Inter-Rater Reliability of Gait Quality Traits in Franches-Montagnes Stallions.
J Equine Vet Sci, 88, 102932.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jevs.2020.102932 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Agroscope - Swiss National Stud Farm, Les Longs-Prés, Avenches, Switzerland; Institute of Genetics, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland; Equine Department, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland. Electronic address: annik.gmel@agroscope.admin.ch.
- Alcohol Treatment Centre, Lausanne University Hospital, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
- Agroscope - Swiss National Stud Farm, Les Longs-Prés, Avenches, Switzerland.
- Equine Department, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
- Agroscope - Swiss National Stud Farm, Les Longs-Prés, Avenches, Switzerland.
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Biomechanical Phenomena
- Gait
- Horses
- Male
- Phenotype
- Reproducibility of Results
- Walking
Citations
This article has been cited 4 times.- Gmel AI, Burren A, Neuditschko M. Estimates of Genetic Parameters for Shape Space Data in Franches-Montagnes Horses. Animals (Basel) 2022 Aug 25;12(17).
- Gmel AI, Gmel G, Weishaupt MA, Neuditschko M. Gait quality scoring data of Franches-Montagnes stallions at walk and trot on a treadmill by experts of the breed and their reliability. Data Brief 2022 Jun;42:108123.
- Darbandi H, Serra Bragança F, van der Zwaag BJ, Voskamp J, Gmel AI, Haraldsdóttir EH, Havinga P. Using Different Combinations of Body-Mounted IMU Sensors to Estimate Speed of Horses-A Machine Learning Approach. Sensors (Basel) 2021 Jan 26;21(3).
- Irawan AS, Alristina AD, Laili RD, Amalia N, Muharram AP, Miranda AV, Döbrössy B, Girasek E. Beyond the interface: benchmarking pediatric mobile health applications for monitoring child growth using the Mobile App Rating Scale. Front Digit Health 2025;7:1621293.
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