In this study a method of analysing ground reaction forces was developed to help in the diagnosis of subclinical flexor tendon injury. A Kistler force plate was used to obtain records from a population of Thoroughbreds in National Hunt training over a period of two years. Characteristic features of the force patterns generated were measured and shown to have low variance, both between horses and over a period of two racing seasons in animals that were sound throughout the trial. Specific changes in the loading pattern of the limb, which correlated with injury of the superficial digital flexor tendon, were identified from horses that sustained clinical injury during the study. Retrospective analysis showed that changes became apparent in the force patterns before this group of horses exhibited clinical lameness. This type of analysis provides an objective means of detecting tendon injury at an early stage.

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Recordings of forelimb ground reaction forces were made from 48 normal ponies moving at the trot, to evaluate the relationships between bodyweight, vertical ground reaction forces, the timing of individual events within the stance phase and the total contact time. There were highly significant correlations between the mean vertical ground reaction forces and bodyweight. The mean vertical ground reaction forces, corrected for bodyweight, were inversely correlated with the total contact time suggesting that higher trotting speeds may be associated with greater vertical ground reaction forces. The ponies' bodyweights were positively correlated with the contact time, implying a reduced stride frequency with increasing size. The ground reaction force events in the mid and late stance phases occurred at consistent fractions of the total stance time. The ground reaction forces and time parameters were highly symmetrical.

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