A field study on hoof deceleration at impact in Standardbred trotters at various speeds

Abstract

Impact-related peak decelerations with high loading rates are described as indicators of mechanical stress to the limb. The hoof deceleration pattern in the beginning of the stance phase has recently been described, together with ground reaction force measurements at slow speed; however, no information is available at high speeds. The objective of the present study was to investigate the hoof deceleration pattern following impact at slow speeds, comparable to earlier force plate studies, and at high speeds on a racetrack. Eight Standardbreds equipped with triaxial accelerometers mounted on fore-and hind hooves were driven from a jogcart on a harness-training racetrack with a stone dust surface at the mean speeds of 4.7, 5.7, 10.1 and 12.7 m s 21 . The accelerometer signals were sampled at 10 kHz during 10 s of constant speed along one straight of the racetrack. The signal was studied for each speed by the analysis of representative peak decelerations. At slow trot, the deceleration pattern was similar to what was found in earlier studies over the force plate. The peak values of both the vertical and horizontal decelerations increased significantly with a higher speed (P # 0.01). It was shown that a higher speed results in changes of the hoof deceleration pattern with higher peak decelerations. The maximum horizontal deceleration, together with the second vertical peak deceleration, were suggested to be major indicators on the mechanical stress subjected to the limb.

Does ‘hacking’ surface type affect equine forelimb foot placement, movement symmetry or hoof impact deceleration during ridden walk and trot exercise?

“…The absence of a significant difference in fqMax between walk and trot may be because the material properties of the foot and surface were constant between gaits, and frequency is highly influenced by material properties. Similar frequencies across a range of trotting speeds has been reported previously and an ex vivo study found a decrease of ~50 Hz between hoof‐impacts occurring at 0.75 and 1.25 m/s , similar to the nonsignificant differences reported in our study.…”

“…Like others who have utilised hoof‐mounted accelerometers, we have reported high levels of within horse variation regarding vibration parameters . In order to minimise the within horse variation, the accelerometer was not removed between trials in this study.…”

“…It is interesting to note that there was a significant interaction between surface and gait in the craniocaudal power parameters but not in those of the proximodistal plane. This could indicate that the craniocaudal plane is more sensitive to changes in surface and gait, potentially because the time taken for the hoof to come to a stop is influenced by both speed and surface properties .…”

Discrimination of two equine racing surfaces based on forelimb dynamic and hoof kinematic variables at the canter

“…The power density spectrum of the z accelerometric signal (during the hoof braking phase) was calculated for each stride using a Fast Fourier Transform (Gustås et al, 2006b). The spectral density curves were then integrated for several frequency ranges (0-200, 200-400, 400-600, 600-800, 800-1000 and 1000-2000 Hz) to give vibration energy values that could be compared between surfaces.…”

Biomechanical analysis of hoof landing and stride parameters in harness trotter horses running on different tracks of a sand beach (from wet to dry) and on an asphalt road

“…This suggests that parameters that affect horizontal braking are important to the orthopaedic health of the horse. At different speeds, Gustas et al . (2006b) have documented that the absolute length of the hoof‐braking period is between 30 and 50 ms and is independent of speed.…”