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Effect of Gait and Turn Direction on Body Lean Angle in the Horse
Author(s) -
Brocklehurst C,
Weller R,
Pfau T
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
equine veterinary journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.82
H-Index - 87
eISSN - 2042-3306
pISSN - 0425-1644
DOI - 10.1111/evj.12267_111
Subject(s) - horse , gait , lameness , mathematics , radius , centripetal force , kinematics , physics , geometry , physical medicine and rehabilitation , geodesy , medicine , mechanics , computer science , biology , surgery , geology , classical mechanics , paleontology , computer security
Turning is commonly used as a diagnostic aid in lameness examinations. Systematic movement deviations compared to locomotion in a straight line are noted across horses with variation at an individual level. This study aimed to investigate whether deviations from the expected body lean angle, predicted from the ratio of gravitational and centripetal accelerations, are consistent between trot and canter. It was hypothesized that, independent of gait, there would be agreement between the observed and predicted angle with variations on an individual horse level. Methods A GPS ‐aided inertial measurement unit was attached over the sacrum in twenty horses and quantified body lean angle, speed and circle radius in trot and canter on left and right rein. Predicted body lean angle was calculated from speed and circle radius and was compared to the observed body lean (Δobs,pred). A generalized linear model was implemented to study the effect of horse, lungeing direction and gait. Results Mean speed and circle radius were 3.3 m/s and 4.9 m in trot and 4.5 m/s and 5.7 m in canter. On average Δobs,pred was −1.1°in trot and −0.8°in canter and was found to be significantly different between horses (P<0.0001) and between lungeing directions (P<0.0001) but not between gaits (P = 0.14). Interactions between horse and direction (P<0.0001) and horse and gait (P = 0.011) were also found to be significant. Conclusions Horses leaned marginally less into the circle than predicted. However, showing significant differences in body lean angle between horses and turn directions but not between gaits, we provide evidence for horse specific adaptations. Whether these are related to laterality or to underlying subclinical lameness needs to be further investigated. Ethical Animal Research The study was approved by the local ethics committee. Sources of funding: none declared. Competing interests: none.