Epsilon Archive for Student Projects

Abstract

The interest in horses and equestrian sport is constantly increasing, and so is the will in both riders and trainers to learn more about the effect the rider and its equipment have on the horse. The last twenty years, more and more studies have been performed were the horse and its kinematics have been in focus. The access to more advanced technology has made it possible to study areas, which earlier have been hard to reach. The knowledge about kinematics in the horse, and how riders and their equipment interact with the horse's movement, is also of great interest to veterinarians in equine practice. How to help the horse in a prophylactic purpose and how to make better programs for rehabilitations, are important fields for both riders and veterinarians.

Earlier studies have shown that the angle in the fetlock joint well reflects the amplitude of the Ground Reaction Force (Rimersma et al 1988a,b). Therefore the fetlock joint was chosen for this study of the effect of rising trot on equine movement.
The purpose of the present study was to evaluate how the load from the rising trot of the rider effects the angle of the fetlock joint.

The study contained 4 healthy dressage horses in full training, which all competed on Intermediare or Grand Prix level. The horses and their riders, saddles and schabrak were provided with 85 spherical, light reflecting markers. The markers were placed on the horse´s head, neck, caudal back and some of the joints on the legs. The horses then trotted with their heads in different head positions and at various paces on a treadmill with their regular riders. Twelve ProReflex® cameras registered the markers´ three dimensional movements. The data obtained was worked up in Qualisys Track Manager, Matlab and Excel.

The study shows that there is a significant difference in the angle of the left fetlock joint in the rising trot when the rider is sitting down on the right or the left forelimb respectively. When the rider sit down on the left frontleg and the right hindleg, there is an decrease in the angle of the fetlock joint during the loading and stance for these two legs, which suggests that the vertical force on these legs increases at the moment when the rider sits down in the rising trot. The angle was even more decreased in the hindleg than in the frontleg, so it might be that the hindlegs take more pressure than the frontlegs in the rising trot. Further investigations are suggested to get more knowledge about the interaction between the horse and the rider.