Combined influence of expertise and fatigue on riding strategy and horse–rider coupling during the time course of endurance races

Abstract

Accelerometers are a valuable tool to follow the quantitative and qualitative trends of the biomechanical horse–rider interaction during international endurance races. The overall results emphasise the influence of the level of expertise on the adopted gait and riding techniques, thus influencing the racing speed. It remains to be established whether fatigue and/or strategy underlie our observations.

Practical uses of quantitative gait analysis in horses

“…Advanced duos maintained a more stable speed and elite duos increased the use of the sitting canter, while both groups used 2‐point trot less often than other strategies. The study highlights the great potential of accelerometer‐based wearables to characterise gait and riding strategies . Using also accelerometer‐based devices, Heim et al .…”

“…Its use in aiding lameness diagnosis and monitoring is mainly based on measuring gait asymmetries, determining whether those asymmetries are over pre-set thresholds and deciding on their clinical relevance. Much work has already been done to investigate symmetry and asymmetry values of the motion of various body parts (including vertical displacement of head, withers and pelvis; joint angle parameters of the limbs and vertebral column), stride parameters and limb loading; as well as the symmetry values seen under different conditions such as different disciplines, training, type of terrain, with or without a rider and during lungeing or when moving over a straight line [1][2][3][4][5][6][7]. Further refinement of knowledge on gait parameters is still warranted, and research in the area will not cease as technologies evolve.Although perfectly suited for the purpose, quantitative gait analysis has been used in very few studies of neurological conditions.…”

“…Advanced duos maintained a more stable speed and elite duos increased the use of the sitting canter, while both groups used 2-point trot less often than other strategies. The study highlights the great potential of accelerometer-based wearables to characterise gait and riding strategies [1]. Using also accelerometer-based devices, Heim et al[2] established the normal values for latero-medial and dorso-ventral range of motion (ROM) of the vertebral column in 27 Franches-Montagnes stallions and compared it with a group of mix-bred horses trotting under different exercising conditions.…”

World Horse Welfare online collection of research on working equids

“…The collection currently includes reports of recent research addressing clinical problems related to the working lives of these animals. Lameness [1,2], husbandry problems and tack-related wounds [3,4] are common and, possibly due to poor nutrition, donkeys are prone to gastric ulceration [5]. Parasitic infestation is a major threat [5].…”

“…Lameness [1,2], husbandry problems and tack-related wounds [3,4] are common and, possibly due to poor nutrition, donkeys are prone to gastric ulceration [5]. Parasitic infestation is a major threat [5]. There is also a need to develop tools which can be used to assess health and welfare in the field setting [6].…”