Citation of This ArticlePeansukmanee S, Thawinchai N, Khanproa P, Khaminluang P: Feasibility study of inertial sensor technology on ponies for equine-assisted therapy (EAT). Kafkas Univ Vet Fak Derg, 23 (6): 871-878, 2017. DOI: 10.9775/kvfd.2017 Abstract Ponies used in equine-assisted therapy (EAT) (hippotherapy) often carry imbalanced riders, which is a cause for concern as regards the health of the ponies. A low degree of lameness or an abnormal gait is not always detectable by a veterinarian, subjectively, but this is enabled by using a motion analysis equipment. The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of inertial sensor technology utilization to analyze ponies' kinematic motion at walking gait. Ten ponies were instrumented with the inertial sensors and made to walk 20 m in two trials (departure and return) for the forelimb data set (n=10), which was then repeated in the second round for the hindlimb (n=3). The ponies were assigned three interventions: walking with no rider, walking with a rider with typical development (normal rider), and walking with a rider with physical disability (disabled rider). The movement speed, stride length, and stride duration were measured by a video camera. The limb range of motion and the angular velocity were detected by inertial sensors. The results showed that there were no significant differences in the kinematic motion of the forelimb at walking gait for all interventions and no significant differences between the left and the right forelimbs except in the case of the anterior phase of the angular velocity of the arm when walking with a disabled rider (P<0.05). The hindlimb data set was not statistically compared due to insufficient "n" number. In conclusion, the inertial sensor technology is feasible to use on pony kinematic motion, especially when the sensor is attached to the forelimb. It seems that the ponies could modify the natural kinematic motion when walking with a load on them. Keywords: Pony, Walk, Kinematic, Equine-assisted therapy, Hippotherapy, Inertial sensor At-Destekli Terapi İçin Ponilerde Atalet Belirleme Teknolojisinin Fizibilite Çalışması ÖzetAt-destekli (equine-destekli) terapide (hipoterapi) kullanılan ponilerin sıklıkla denge sorunlu binicileri taşımaları bu ponilerde sağlık sorununa neden olabilmektedir. Düşük dereceli topallık veya anormal yürüyüş daima veteriner hekim tarafından belirlenemeyebilir ve hareket analiz ekipmanı gerektirebilir. Bu çalışmanın amacı atalet belirleme teknolojisinin fizibilitesini ponilerin kinematik hareketlerinde test etmektir. On adet poni atalet sensorları ile donatıldı ve iki hat boyunca (kalkış ve dönüş) 20 m yürütüldü. Ön ayak veri seti (n=10) sonradan ikinci turda arka ayak (n=3) için tekrar edildi. Poniler 3 uygulamaya maruz bırakıldı: binicisiz yürüme, tipik gelişimli binicili yürüme (normal binici) ve fiziksel engelli binicili yürüme (engelli binici). Hareket hızı, adım uzunluğu ve adım süresi video kamera ile ölçüldü. Hareketin adım sırası ve açısal hızı atalet sensörleri ile belirlendi. Tüm den...