FREE SHIPPING over $40
OVER 9000 FIVE-STAR REVIEWS
5% OFF ALL SUBSCRIPTIONS
100% HAPPINESS GUARANTEE
Analyze Diet
0
Home / Equine Research Bank / PLoS One / The effect of curve running on distal limb kinematics in the...
PloS one2020; 15(12); e0244105; doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0244105

The effect of curve running on distal limb kinematics in the Thoroughbred racehorse.

Abstract: During racing, injury is more likely to occur on a bend than on a straight segment of track. This study aimed to quantify the effects of galloping at training speeds on large radius curves on stride parameters and limb lean angle in order to assess estimated consequences for limb loading. Seven Thoroughbred horses were equipped with a sacrum-mounted inertial measurement unit with an integrated GPS, two hoof-mounted accelerometers and retro-reflective markers on the forelimbs. Horses galloped 2-4 circuits anticlockwise around an oval track and were filmed at 120 frames per second using an array of ten cameras. Speed and curve radius were derived from GPS data and used to estimate the centripetal acceleration necessary to navigate the curve. Stride, stance and swing durations and duty factor (DF) were derived from accelerometer data. Limb markers were tracked and whole limb and third metacarpus (MCIII) angles were calculated. Data were analysed using mixed effects models with a significance level of p < 0.05. For horses galloping on the correct lead, DF was higher for the inside (lead) leg on the straight and on the curve. For horses galloping on the incorrect lead, there was no difference in DF between inside and outside legs on the straight or on the curve. DF decreased by 0.61% of DF with each 1 m s-2 increase in centripetal acceleration (p < 0.001). Whole limb inclination angle increased by 1.5° per 1 m s-1 increase in speed (p = 0.002). Limb lean angles increase as predicted, and lead limb function mirrors the functional requirements for curve running. A more comprehensive understanding of the effects of lean and torque on the distal limb is required to understand injury mechanisms.
Get Full Text
Publication Date: 2020-12-29 PubMed ID: 33373408PubMed Central: PMC7771664DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0244105Google Scholar: Lookup
The Equine Research Bank provides access to a large database of publicly available scientific literature. Inclusion in the Research Bank does not imply endorsement of study methods or findings by Mad Barn.
LinkedInCopy
  • Journal Article
  • Research Support
  • Non-U.S. Gov't

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 focuses on understanding the impact of running on curved track sections on equine limb kinematics, with an aim to analyze potential injury risks for racing Thoroughbreds.

Research Methodology

  • The researchers chose seven Thoroughbred horses for the study. These horses were fitted with a sacrum-mounted inertial measurement unit along with an integrated GPS. They also had two accelerometers attached to their hooves and retro-reflective markers were placed on their forelimbs.
  • The horses were then made to gallop 2-4 circuits anticlockwise around an oval track while they were being filmed at a rate of 120 frames per second using ten cameras. The researchers could thus derive the speed and curve radius data from the GPS, allowing them to calculate the centripetal acceleration necessary for the horses to navigate the curve.

Data Analysis

  • The researchers extracted stride, stance, swing durations, and duty factor (DF), which denotes the proportion of one complete stride for which the foot is on the ground, from the data gathered from the accelerometer. Limb markers were tracked and angles for the whole limb and third metacarpus (MCIII) were calculated.
  • The data were further analyzed through mixed effects models with a significance level of p < 0.05.

Findings

  • The study found that for horses galloping on the correct lead, the DF was higher for the inside or lead leg both on a straight path and on a curve.
  • Conversely, for horses that galloped on the incorrect lead, the researchers observed no difference in DF between the inside and outside legs, be it on a straight or curved path.
  • They also found that DF decreased by 0.61% with each 1 meter per second squared increase in centripetal acceleration.
  • The whole limb inclination increased by 1.5 degrees per 1 meter per second increase in speed.

Implications

  • The findings suggested that limb lean angles increase as predicted and the lead limb function mirrors the functional requirements for curve running.
  • This research subsequently indicates the need for a more comprehensive understanding of the impacts of leaning and torque on the horse’s distal limb for understanding potential injury mechanisms.

Cite This Article

APA
Parkes RSV, Pfau T, Weller R, Witte TH. (2020). The effect of curve running on distal limb kinematics in the Thoroughbred racehorse. PLoS One, 15(12), e0244105. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0244105

Publication

PloS one
ISSN: 1932-6203
NlmUniqueID: 101285081
Country: United States
Language: English
Volume: 15
Issue: 12
Pages: e0244105
PII: e0244105

Researcher Affiliations

Parkes, Rebecca S V
  • Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong.
  • Department of Clinical Science and Services & Structure and Motion Lab, Royal Veterinary College, South Mimms, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom.
Pfau, Thilo
  • Department of Clinical Science and Services & Structure and Motion Lab, Royal Veterinary College, South Mimms, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom.
Weller, Renate
  • Department of Clinical Science and Services & Structure and Motion Lab, Royal Veterinary College, South Mimms, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom.
Witte, Thomas H
  • Department of Clinical Science and Services & Structure and Motion Lab, Royal Veterinary College, South Mimms, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom.

MeSH Terms

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

Conflict of Interest Statement

TP is owner of EquiGait providing gait analysis products and services. These products were not used in this study. This does not alter our adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials.

References

This article includes 43 references
  1. Walter RM. Kinematics of 90 degrees running turns in wild mice.. J Exp Biol 2003 May;206(Pt 10):1739-49.
    doi: 10.1242/jeb.00349pubmed: 12682105google scholar: lookup
  2. Tan H, Wilson AM. Grip and limb force limits to turning performance in competition horses.. Proc Biol Sci 2011 Jul 22;278(1715):2105-11.
    doi: 10.1098/rspb.2010.2395pmc: PMC3107634pubmed: 21147799google scholar: lookup
  3. Parkes RS, Richard Newton J, Dyson SJ. An investigation of risk factors for foot-related lameness in a United Kingdom referral population of horses.. Vet J 2013 May;196(2):218-25.
    doi: 10.1016/j.tvjl.2012.09.006pubmed: 23122618google scholar: lookup
  4. Hobbs SJ, Licka T, Polman R. The difference in kinematics of horses walking, trotting and cantering on a flat and banked 10 m circle.. Equine Vet J 2011 Nov;43(6):686-94.
    doi: 10.1111/j.2042-3306.2010.00334.xpubmed: 21496095google scholar: lookup
  5. Ueda Y, Yoshida K, Oikawa M. Analyses of race accident conditions through use of patrol video. J Equine Vet Sci 1993;13: 707–710.
    doi: 10.1016/S0737-0806(06)81572-8google scholar: lookup
  6. Parkin TD, Clegg PD, French NP, Proudman CJ, Riggs CM, Singer ER, Webbon PM, Morgan KL. Analysis of horse race videos to identify intra-race risk factors for fatal distal limb fracture.. Prev Vet Med 2006 Apr 17;74(1):44-55.
    doi: 10.1016/j.prevetmed.2006.01.006pubmed: 16513194google scholar: lookup
  7. Rossdale PD, Hopes R, Digby NJ, offord K. Epidemiological study of wastage among racehorses 1982 and 1983.. Vet Rec 1985 Jan 19;116(3):66-9.
    doi: 10.1136/vr.116.3.66pubmed: 3976145google scholar: lookup
  8. Cogger N, Perkins N, Hodgson DR, Reid SW, Evans DL. Risk factors for musculoskeletal injuries in 2-year-old Thoroughbred racehorses.. Prev Vet Med 2006 Apr 17;74(1):36-43.
    doi: 10.1016/j.prevetmed.2006.01.005pubmed: 16481055google scholar: lookup
  9. Dyson PK, Jackson BF, Pfeiffer DU, Price JS. Days lost from training by two- and three-year-old Thoroughbred horses: a survey of seven UK training yards.. Equine Vet J 2008 Nov;40(7):650-7.
    doi: 10.2746/042516408x363242pubmed: 19165934google scholar: lookup
  10. Ely ER, Avella CS, Price JS, Smith RK, Wood JL, Verheyen KL. Descriptive epidemiology of fracture, tendon and suspensory ligament injuries in National Hunt racehorses in training.. Equine Vet J 2009 Apr;41(4):372-8.
    doi: 10.2746/042516409x371224pubmed: 19562899google scholar: lookup
  11. Chang YH, Kram R. Limitations to maximum running speed on flat curves.. J Exp Biol 2007 Mar;210(Pt 6):971-82.
    doi: 10.1242/jeb.02728pubmed: 17337710google scholar: lookup
  12. Greene PR. Sprinting with banked turns.. J Biomech 1987;20(7):667-80.
    doi: 10.1016/0021-9290(87)90033-9pubmed: 3654665google scholar: lookup
  13. Usherwood JR, Wilson AM. Biomechanics: no force limit on greyhound sprint speed.. Nature 2005 Dec 8;438(7069):753-4.
    doi: 10.1038/438753apubmed: 16341003google scholar: lookup
  14. Wills (2013) The limits to turning performance in the domestic dog (Canis lupus familiaris).
  15. Witte TH, Knill K, Wilson AM. Determination of peak vertical ground reaction force from duty factor in the horse (Equus caballus).. J Exp Biol 2004 Oct;207(Pt 21):3639-48.
    doi: 10.1242/jeb.01182pubmed: 15371472google scholar: lookup
  16. Chateau H, Camus M, Holden-Douilly L, Falala S, Ravary B, Vergari C, Lepley J, Denoix JM, Pourcelot P, Crevier-Denoix N. Kinetics of the forelimb in horses circling on different ground surfaces at the trot.. Vet J 2013 Dec;198 Suppl 1:e20-6.
    doi: 10.1016/j.tvjl.2013.09.028pubmed: 24511634google scholar: lookup
  17. Chateau H, Degueurce C, Denoix JM. Three-dimensional kinematics of the equine distal forelimb: effects of a sharp turn at the walk.. Equine Vet J 2005 Jan;37(1):12-8.
    doi: 10.2746/0425164054406946pubmed: 15651728google scholar: lookup
  18. Clayton HM, Sha DH. Head and body centre of mass movement in horses trotting on a circular path.. Equine Vet J Suppl 2006 Aug;(36):462-7.
    doi: 10.1111/j.2042-3306.2006.tb05588.xpubmed: 17402467google scholar: lookup
  19. Brocklehurst C, Weller R, Pfau T. Effect of turn direction on body lean angle in the horse in trot and canter.. Vet J 2014 Feb;199(2):258-62.
    doi: 10.1016/j.tvjl.2013.11.009pubmed: 24360754google scholar: lookup
  20. Pfau T, Stubbs NC, Kaiser LJ, Brown LE, Clayton HM. Effect of trotting speed and circle radius on movement symmetry in horses during lunging on a soft surface.. Am J Vet Res 2012 Dec;73(12):1890-9.
    doi: 10.2460/ajvr.73.12.1890pubmed: 23176414google scholar: lookup
  21. Parkes RSV, Weller R, Pfau T, Witte TH. The Effect of Training on Stride Duration in a Cohort of Two-Year-Old and Three-Year-Old Thoroughbred Racehorses.. Animals (Basel) 2019 Jul 22;9(7).
    pmc: PMC6680649pubmed: 31336595doi: 10.3390/ani9070466google scholar: lookup
  22. Hedrick TL. Software techniques for two- and three-dimensional kinematic measurements of biological and biomimetic systems.. Bioinspir Biomim 2008 Sep;3(3):034001.
    doi: 10.1088/1748-3182/3/3/034001pubmed: 18591738google scholar: lookup
  23. Heim C, Pfau T, Gerber V, Schweizer C, Doherr M, Schüpbach-Regula G, Witte S. Determination of vertebral range of motion using inertial measurement units in 27 Franches-Montagnes stallions and comparison between conditions and with a mixed population.. Equine Vet J 2016 Jul;48(4):509-16.
    doi: 10.1111/evj.12455pubmed: 25919410google scholar: lookup
  24. McGuigan MP, Wilson AM. The effect of gait and digital flexor muscle activation on limb compliance in the forelimb of the horse Equus caballus.. J Exp Biol 2003 Apr;206(Pt 8):1325-36.
    doi: 10.1242/jeb.00254pubmed: 12624168google scholar: lookup
  25. Witte TH, Hirst CV, Wilson AM. Effect of speed on stride parameters in racehorses at gallop in field conditions.. J Exp Biol 2006 Nov;209(Pt 21):4389-97.
    doi: 10.1242/jeb.02518pubmed: 17050854google scholar: lookup
  26. Ruina A, Bertram JE, Srinivasan M. A collisional model of the energetic cost of support work qualitatively explains leg sequencing in walking and galloping, pseudo-elastic leg behavior in running and the walk-to-run transition.. J Theor Biol 2005 Nov 21;237(2):170-92.
    doi: 10.1016/j.jtbi.2005.04.004pubmed: 15961114google scholar: lookup
  27. Williams DE, Norris BJ. Laterality in stride pattern preferences in racehorses. Anim Behav 2007;74: 941–950.
    doi: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2007.01.014google scholar: lookup
  28. Wilson AM, Watson JC, Lichtwark GA. Biomechanics: A catapult action for rapid limb protraction.. Nature 2003 Jan 2;421(6918):35-6.
    doi: 10.1038/421035apubmed: 12511944google scholar: lookup
  29. Moreno C, Biewener A. The roll plane: Body lean angle and ground reaction forces in turning goats. Comp Biochem Physiol A-molecular Integr Physiol—COMP Biochem PHYSIOL PT A 2009;153.
    doi: 10.1016/j.cbpa.2009.04.183google scholar: lookup
  30. Bakhtiari J, Heshmat G. Estimation of genetic parameters of conformation traits in Iranian Thoroughbred horses. Livest Sci 2009; 116–120.
    doi: 10.1016/j.livsci.2008.10.014google scholar: lookup
  31. Greve L, Pfau T, Dyson S. Alterations in body lean angle in lame horses before and after diagnostic analgesia in straight lines in hand and on the lunge.. Vet J 2018 Sep;239:1-6.
    doi: 10.1016/j.tvjl.2018.07.006pubmed: 30197103google scholar: lookup
  32. Pearce GP, May-Davis S, Greaves D. Femoral asymmetry in the Thoroughbred racehorse.. Aust Vet J 2005 Jun;83(6):367-70.
    doi: 10.1111/j.1751-0813.2005.tb15636.xpubmed: 15986917google scholar: lookup
  33. Unt VE, Evans J, Reed SR, Pfau T, Weller R. Variation in frontal plane joint angles in horses.. Equine Vet J Suppl 2010 Nov;(38):444-50.
    doi: 10.1111/j.2042-3306.2010.00192.xpubmed: 21059043google scholar: lookup
  34. Arthur RM, Ross MW, Moloney PJ, Cheney MW. North American Thoroughbred. Diagnosis and Management of Lameness in the Horse 2003.
    doi: 10.1016/B978-0-7216-8342-3.50114–5google scholar: lookup
  35. Pilsworth RC. The European Thoroughbred. Diagnosis and Management of Lameness in the Horse 2003.
    doi: 10.1016/B978-0-7216-8342-3.50115–7google scholar: lookup
  36. Whitton RC, Rose RJ. The intercarpal ligaments of the equine midcarpal joint, Part 2: The role of the palmar intercarpal ligaments in the restraint of dorsal displacement of the proximal row of carpal bones.. Vet Surg 1997 Sep-Oct;26(5):367-73.
    doi: 10.1111/j.1532-950x.1997.tb01695.xpubmed: 9381661google scholar: lookup
  37. Schneider RK, Bramlage LR, Gabel AA, Barone LM, Kantrowitz BM. Incidence, location and classification of 371 third carpal bone fractures in 313 horses.. Equine Vet J Suppl 1988 Sep;(6):33-42.
    doi: 10.1111/j.2042-3306.1988.tb04646.xpubmed: 9079061google scholar: lookup
  38. Schamhardt HC. Quantitative analyses of equine locomotion. 1996.
  39. Fredricson I, Dalin G, Drevemo S, Hjertén G, Alm LO. A Biotechnical Approach to the Geometric Design of Racetracks. Equine Vet J 1975;7: 91–96.
    doi: 10.1111/j.2042-3306.1975.tb03240.xgoogle scholar: lookup
  40. Oikawa M, Ueda Y, Inada S, Tsuchikawa T, Kusano H, Takeda A. Effect of restructuring of a racetrack on the occurrence of racing injuries in thoroughbred horses. J Equine Vet Sci 1994;14: 262–268.
    doi: 10.1016/S0737-0806(06)81951-9google scholar: lookup
  41. Evans DL, Walsh JS. Effect of increasing the banking of a racetrack on the occurrence of injury and lameness in standardbred horses.. Aust Vet J 1997 Oct;75(10):751-2.
    doi: 10.1111/j.1751-0813.1997.tb12261.xpubmed: 9406636google scholar: lookup
  42. Pfau T, Witte TH, Wilson AM. Centre of mass movement and mechanical energy fluctuation during gallop locomotion in the Thoroughbred racehorse.. J Exp Biol 2006 Oct;209(Pt 19):3742-57.
    doi: 10.1242/jeb.02439pubmed: 16985191google scholar: lookup
  43. Bertram JE. Gait as solution, but what is the problem? Exploring cost, economy and compromise in locomotion.. Vet J 2013 Dec;198 Suppl 1:e3-8.
    doi: 10.1016/j.tvjl.2013.09.025pubmed: 24149060google scholar: lookup

Citations

This article has been cited 4 times.
  1. Logan AA, Snyder AJ, Nielsen BD. Circle Diameter Impacts Stride Frequency and Forelimb Stance Duration at Various Gaits in Horses.. Sensors (Basel) 2023 Apr 24;23(9).
    doi: 10.3390/s23094232pubmed: 37177435google scholar: lookup
  2. Logan AA, Nielsen BD, Hiney KM, Robison CI, Manfredi JM, Buskirk DD, Popovich JM Jr. The Impact of Circular Exercise Diameter on Bone and Joint Health of Juvenile Animals.. Animals (Basel) 2022 May 27;12(11).
    doi: 10.3390/ani12111379pubmed: 35681842google scholar: lookup
  3. Pagliara E, Pasinato A, Valazza A, Riccio B, Cantatore F, Terzini M, Putame G, Parrilli A, Sartori M, Fini M, Zanetti EM, Bertuglia A. Multibody Computer Model of the Entire Equine Forelimb Simulates Forces Causing Catastrophic Fractures of the Carpus during a Traditional Race.. Animals (Basel) 2022 Mar 16;12(6).
    doi: 10.3390/ani12060737pubmed: 35327134google scholar: lookup
  4. Logan AA, Nielsen BD, Robison CI, Hallock DB, Manfredi JM, Hiney KM, Buskirk DD, Popovich JM Jr. Impact of Gait and Diameter during Circular Exercise on Front Hoof Area, Vertical Force, and Pressure in Mature Horses.. Animals (Basel) 2021 Dec 17;11(12).
    doi: 10.3390/ani11123581pubmed: 34944357google scholar: lookup
Subscribe to our newsletter
Join 99,357 horse owners like you who receive our email updates on horse health and nutrition.