Head, withers and pelvic movement asymmetry and their relative timing in trot in racing Thoroughbreds in training

To document head, withers and pelvic movement asymmetry and timing differences in horses with naturally occurring gait asymmetries.

Using a retrospective analysis of gait data, head, withers and pelvic movement asymmetry and timing of displacement minima and maxima were quantified from inertial sensors in 163 Thoroughbreds during trot‐ups on hard ground.

The relationship between head and withers asymmetry (i.e. same sided or opposite sided asymmetry) predicts the relationship between head and pelvic asymmetry in 69–77% of horses.

In the Thoroughbreds with natural gait asymmetries investigated here, the direction of head vs. withers movement asymmetry identifies the majority of horses with ipsilateral and contralateral head and pelvic movement asymmetries. Withers movement should be further investigated for differentiating between forelimb and hindlimb lame horses. Horses with opposite sided head and withers asymmetry significantly delay the upward movement of the head after ‘sound’ forelimb stance.

This study was made possible through a joint research collaboration with the Royal Veterinary College in England.

Link to publication

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/wol1/doi/10.1111/evj.12705/abstract

Reference

Pfau T., Noordwijk K., Sepulveda Caviedes M. F., Persson-Sjödin M. and Rhodin M. (2017) Head, withers and pelvic movement asymmetry and their relative timing in trot in racing Thoroughbreds in training. Equine Veterinary Journal. Volume 50 Issue 1