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Home / Equine Research Bank / Vet J / Vertical head and trunk movement adaptations of sound horses...
Veterinary journal (London, England : 1997)2011; 193(1); 73-80; doi: 10.1016/j.tvjl.2011.10.019

Vertical head and trunk movement adaptations of sound horses trotting in a circle on a hard surface.

Abstract: Trotting a horse in circles is a standard and important part of the subjective equine lameness examination, yet objective data on this form of locomotion are sparse. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of trotting in a circle on head and trunk movement symmetry. Vertical movements of the head, withers, os sacrum and left and right tuber coxae were measured using inertial sensors as 12 sound horses were trotted on a hard surface in a straight line and in a circle on both reins. Seven asymmetry measures and hip hike were calculated for each horse for at least nine strides of comparable stride duration across the three conditions (deviation on horse level ≤3.7% stride duration). Trotting in a circle introduced systematic changes to the movement pattern of all five body landmarks, affecting most asymmetry measures. On average the asymmetry magnitude was comparable for midline locations between reins and for the tuber coxae on opposite reins with few exceptions, although individual horses showed unsystematic differences between the two reins. The results from this study showed that the thresholds for objective discrimination between lame and non-lame horses will need adjustment on the circle due to the observed asymmetry bias.
Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Publication Date: 2011-11-21 PubMed ID: 22104508DOI: 10.1016/j.tvjl.2011.10.019Google Scholar: Lookup
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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 study aimed to understand how trotting in a circle affects the symmetry of the horse’s head and trunk movement. The research found that trotting in a circle introduces systematic changes to these movements and that the asymmetry thresholds used to distinguish between lame and non-lame horses need adjustment due to these varying locomotion patterns.

Experimental Design

  • The study used a cohort of 12 sound horses to measure their vertical movements of the head, withers, os sacrum, and left and right tuber coxae while trotting on a hard surface, both in a straight line and in a circle on both reins.
  • The horses’ movements were measured using inertial sensors aiming to determine the effect of directional movement on the locomotion symmetry.
  • Seven asymmetry measures and a hip hike measurement were calculated for each horse over at least nine strides of similar stride duration across the three different conditions.

Findings

  • The study found that trotting in a circle introduced systematic changes to the movement pattern of the five measured body landmarks.
  • This affected most asymmetry measures, thereby influencing the movement symmetry of the horses while trotting.
  • The asymmetry magnitude was found to be similar for midline locations between reins and for the tuber coxae on opposite reins with only a few exceptions.
  • The horses showed non-systematic differences between the two reins when trotting in a circle.

Conclusion and Implication

  • The study concludes that trotting in a circle influences the vertical movement of various body landmarks of a horse, introducing an asymmetry bias in their motion.
  • The current thresholds used for objectively differentiating lame and non-lame horses based on movement symmetry may need adjustment when observing the horses trot in circles due to this observed asymmetry bias.
  • This finding can aid in improving the subjectivity and efficiency of equine lameness examinations, thus enabling more accurate health assessments of horses.

Cite This Article

APA
Starke SD, Willems E, May SA, Pfau T. (2011). Vertical head and trunk movement adaptations of sound horses trotting in a circle on a hard surface. Vet J, 193(1), 73-80. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tvjl.2011.10.019

Publication

Veterinary journal (London, England : 1997)
ISSN: 1532-2971
NlmUniqueID: 9706281
Country: England
Language: English
Volume: 193
Issue: 1
Pages: 73-80

Researcher Affiliations

Starke, Sandra D
  • Structure and Motion Laboratory, Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, The Royal Veterinary College, Hatfield AL9 7TA, UK. sstarke@rvc.ac.uk
Willems, Egbert
    May, Stephen A
      Pfau, Thilo

        MeSH Terms

        • Adaptation, Physiological
        • Animals
        • Biomechanical Phenomena
        • Gait
        • Head / physiology
        • Horses / physiology
        • Monitoring, Ambulatory
        • Torso / physiology

        Citations

        This article has been cited 31 times.
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