The Effect That Induced Rider Asymmetry Has on Equine Locomotion and the Range of Motion of the Thoracolumbar Spine When Ridden in Rising Trot

MacKechnie-Guire, Russell; Mackechnie-Guire, Erik; Fairfax, Vanessa; Fisher, Mark; Hargreaves, Sophie; Pfau, Thilo

doi:10.1016/j.jevs.2020.102946

Cited by 15 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 36 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…MacKechnie-Guire et al studied spinal kinematics in horses with riding asymmetry during a rising trot. Their results demonstrated that the horses adapted their kinematics by increasing the ROM in lateral bending at T18 and L3 [13]. Interestingly, a kinematics adaptation was only found in treatment R in the present study.…”

Section: End Of Experimentssupporting

confidence: 49%

Equine spinal kinematics derived from different riding positions during asymmetrical bareback riding

Nuchprayoon

Ritruechai

Watchararat

et al. 2021

JES

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Hippotherapy in patients with neuromuscular dysfunction creates high focal pressure on the pony's back due to bareback riding and an asymmetrical riding position. This study aimed to investigate the acute effect of asymmetrical bareback riding on the pony's spinal kinematics, blood lactate, serum creatine kinase, heart rate, and temperament score. Eight ponies were selected, and they were walked on a treadmill for 45 min on each experimental day, including warm-up (5 min), weight-loading by mannequin (30 min), and cool-down (10 min) sessions. During the weight-loading session, three different weight distributions on the pony's back were applied between the left and right side: 50:50 (treatment M), 70:30 (treatment L), and 30:70 (treatment R) on the first, second, and third day of the experiment, respectively. The spinal kinematics at the end of the weight-loading session revealed a slight reduction in range of motion in both flexion-extension and lateral bending during treatment R. Stride length and stride duration showed no differences between treatments. The levels of blood lactate and serum creatine kinase and results of a back examination were normal. Heart rates and temperament scores revealed that all ponies were calm throughout loading of the mannequin. This information suggests that asymmetrical bareback riding did not cause acute or serious back injury, which indicates good equine welfare in ponies used for hippotherapy.

show abstract

Section: End Of Experimentssupporting

confidence: 49%

Equine spinal kinematics derived from different riding positions during asymmetrical bareback riding

Nuchprayoon

Ritruechai

Watchararat

et al. 2021

JES

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…For example, after a period of resistance band training, horses showed a decrease in mediolateral displacement and rotational ranges of motion of the thoracolumbar spine, potentially a sign of increased dynamic stability [ 26 ]. In contrast, horses ridden by an asymmetric rider showed an increase in lateral bending range of motion and mediolateral displacement of the thoracolumbar spine, potentially a sign of decreased dynamic stability [ 27 ]. It appears that the principle of ‘dynamic stability’, i.e.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The use and application of this technology, combined with force platforms measuring ground reaction forces and additional quantitative assessment of the rider/horse interaction [ 38 – 41 ], creates opportunity to quantify spinal kinematics in a wider population of horses, in order to add to existing knowledge of back movement in non-lame horses [ 33 , 42 ]; allowing to kick-start the building of a database that is essential for advancing our understanding about back related conditions affecting equine health and performance. This study used elite horses and riders, therefore, the changes reported here may not be directly transferable to non-elite riders, where differences in spinal kinematics may reflect different strategies to compensate for rider balance, skill and asymmetry [ 27 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Differential rotational movement and symmetry values of the thoracolumbosacral region in high-level dressage horses when trotting

MacKechnie-Guire

Pfau

2021

PLoS ONE

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

High-level dressage horses regularly perform advanced movements, requiring coordination and force transmission between front and hind limbs across the thoracolumbosacral region. This study aimed at quantifying kinematic differences in dressage horses when ridden in sitting trot–i.e. with additional load applied in the thoracolumbar region–compared with trotting in-hand. Inertial sensors were glued on to the midline of the thoracic (T) and lumbar (L) spine at T5, T13, T18, L3 and middle of the left and right tubera sacrale of ten elite dressage horses (Mean±SD), age 11±1 years, height 1.70±0.10m and body mass 600±24kg; first trotted in-hand, then ridden in sitting trot on an arena surface by four Grand Prix dressage riders. Straight-line motion cycles were analysed using a general linear model (random factor: horse; fixed factor: exercise condition; covariate: stride time, Bonferroni post hoc correction: P<0.05). Differential roll, pitch and yaw angles between adjacent sensors were calculated. In sitting trot, compared to trotting in-hand, there was increased pitch (mean±S.D), (in-hand, 3.9 (0.5°, sitting trot 6.3 (0.3°, P = <0.0001), roll (in-hand, 7.7 (1.1°, sitting trot 11.6 (0.9°, P = 0.003) and heading values (in-hand, 4.2 (0.8), sitting trot 9.5 (0.6°, P = <0.0001) in the caudal thoracic and lumbar region (T18-L3) and a decrease in heading values (in-hand, 7.1 (0.5°, sitting trot 5.2 (0.3°, P = 0.01) in the cranial thoracic region (T5-T13). Kinematics of the caudal thoracic and lumbar spine are influenced by the rider when in sitting trot, whilst lateral bending is reduced in the cranial thoracic region. This biomechanical difference with the addition of a rider, emphasises the importance of observing horses during ridden exercise, when assessing them as part of a loss of performance assessment.

show abstract

“…Modern gait analysis techniques, in particular inertial measurement units (IMUs) are ideally suited for quantitative measurements aiding veterinary decision making: they offer maximum freedom of movement through medium range wireless links or onboard data storage and do not require any sensors on the limbs of the horses [ 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 ]. They also do not require line of sight and can thus be used to quantify multidimensional ranges of motion of the thoraco-lumbo-sacral area and can be attached under the saddle in the ridden horse when required [ 10 , 11 , 12 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Owing to the flexibility afforded by IMU-based gait analysis systems, a number of studies have investigated their use in clinical studies and/or for quantifying the effect of clinically relevant exercises such as flexion tests [ 13 , 14 ], before/after diagnostic analgesia [ 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 ], during lunging [ 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 ] or during movement under the rider [ 11 , 27 , 28 , 29 ]. Quantitative information is needed for creating databases, facilitating an evidence-based approach for veterinary decision making for lameness and poor performance examinations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Upper Body Movement Symmetry in Reining Quarter Horses during Trot In-Hand, on the Lunge and during Ridden Exercise

Pfau

Scott

Allen

2022

Animals

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Veterinary lameness examinations often comprise assessing ridden horses. Quantitative movement symmetry measurements can aid evidence-based decision making. While these are available for ‘English’ style riding, they are not for ‘Western’ style riding. This quantitative observational study quantified movement symmetry in reining Quarter Horses (QHs). Movement symmetry of the head, withers and sacrum (differences between minima, maxima and upward amplitudes) were quantified with inertial sensors in N = 30 medium/high level reining QHs during trot in-hand, on the lunge and ridden by one experienced rider (straight-line/circles) on reining-purpose riding surfaces. Mixed linear models for movement symmetry assessed the effects of ridden exercise and movement direction (fixed factors), stride time (covariate) and horse (random factor): single factors and two-way interactions with Bonferroni correction at p < 0.05. Three withers and pelvic parameters showed marginally more symmetrical movement when ridden (p ≤ 0.044; 1–5 mm differences). Three withers, three sacrum and one head parameter were significantly affected by movement direction (all p ≤ 0.026), five showed increased asymmetry on the inside rein, and two, quantifying vertical displacement maximum difference, showed the opposite. Riding QHs in ‘Western’ style showed small movement symmetry differences. Circular exercise confirmed increases in weight bearing asymmetry on the inside rein and in pushoff asymmetry on the outside rein. This should be further investigated for differentiating between different causes of lameness.

show abstract

The Effect That Induced Rider Asymmetry Has on Equine Locomotion and the Range of Motion of the Thoracolumbar Spine When Ridden in Rising Trot

Cited by 15 publications

References 36 publications

Equine spinal kinematics derived from different riding positions during asymmetrical bareback riding

Equine spinal kinematics derived from different riding positions during asymmetrical bareback riding

Differential rotational movement and symmetry values of the thoracolumbosacral region in high-level dressage horses when trotting

Upper Body Movement Symmetry in Reining Quarter Horses during Trot In-Hand, on the Lunge and during Ridden Exercise

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About