Technologies for equine welfare and performance monitoring under field conditions - Where do we stand?

The need for comprehensive equine welfare assessments has become particularly evident amid ongoing debates about the social licence to operate in equestrian sports. During exercise, multiple physiological systems, principally the cardiovascular, respiratory, muscular, thermoregulatory, endocrine, and locomotory systems, undergo complex adaptations. To monitor and determine equine welfare, an approach that focuses on the quantitative monitoring of both physiological and psychological parameters to determine and understand the impact of equestrian sports on horses is essential.

Adaptation strategies of Icelandic horses with induced transient hindlimb lameness at walk, trot and tölt.

Background: Icelandic horses are valued for their additional gaits, but assessing lameness in this breed can be challenging. Pelvic (P) vertical movement asymmetries, differences (D) in minimum (min)/maximum (max) position, are used to quantify impact (PDmin) and push-off (PDmax) hindlimb lameness during the trot, but no established parameters exist for detecting hindlimb lameness in other gaits.

Objective: To evaluate temporal stride parameters and upper-body movement asymmetry after transient hindlimb lameness induction in walk, trot and tölt.

Gait kinematics at trot before and after repeated ridden exercise tests in young Friesian stallions during a fatiguing 10-week training program.

Background: Appropriate training is essential for equine athletes to improve fitness and ensure welfare. Young Friesian stallions must complete a 10-week training program for acceptance as breeding stallions. Earlier, this training program was demonstrated to induce overtraining.

Classification performance of sEMG and kinematic parameters for distinguishing between non-lame and induced lameness conditions in horses.

Despite its proven research applications, it remains unknown whether surface electromyography (sEMG) can be used clinically to discriminate non-lame from lame conditions in horses. This study compared the classification performance of sEMG absolute value (sEMGabs) and asymmetry (sEMGasym) parameters, alongside validated kinematic upper-body asymmetry parameters, for distinguishing non-lame from induced fore- (iFL) and hindlimb (iHL) lameness. Bilateral sEMG and 3D-kinematic data were collected from clinically non-lame horses ( = 8) during in-hand trot.

Adaptation strategies of the Icelandic horse with induced forelimb lameness at walk, trot and tölt.

Background And Objective: Lameness assessment in the gaited Icelandic horse is complex. We aimed to describe their kinematic and temporal adaptation strategies in response to forelimb lameness at walk, trot and tölt.

Study Design: In vivo experiment.

Evaluating Overall Performance in High-Level Dressage Horse-Rider Combinations by Comparing Measurements from Inertial Sensors with General Impression Scores Awarded by Judges.

In the sport of dressage, one or more judges score the combined performance of a horse and rider with an emphasis on the technical correctness of the movements performed. At the end of the test, a single score is awarded for the 'general impression', which considers the overall performance of the horse and rider as a team. This study explored original measures that contributed to the general impression score in a group of 20 horse-rider combinations.

Adaptations in equine axial movement and muscle activity occur during induced fore- and hindlimb lameness: A kinematic and electromyographic evaluation during in-hand trot.

Background: The inter-relationship between equine thoracolumbar motion and muscle activation during normal locomotion and lameness is poorly understood.

Objective: To compare thoracolumbar and pelvic kinematics and longissimus dorsi (longissimus) activity of trotting horses between baseline and induced forelimb (iFL) and hindlimb (iHL) lameness.

Study Design: Controlled experimental cross-over study.

Adaptations in equine appendicular muscle activity and movement occur during induced fore- and hindlimb lameness: An electromyographic and kinematic evaluation.

The relationship between lameness-related adaptations in equine appendicular motion and muscle activation is poorly understood and has not been studied objectively. The aim of this study was to compare muscle activity of selected fore- and hindlimb muscles, and movement of the joints they act on, between baseline and induced forelimb (iFL) and hindlimb (iHL) lameness. Three-dimensional kinematic data and surface electromyography (sEMG) data from the fore- (triceps brachii, latissimus dorsi) and hindlimbs (superficial gluteal, biceps femoris, semitendinosus) were bilaterally and synchronously collected from clinically non-lame horses ( = 8) trotting over-ground (baseline).

Determining Objective Parameters to Assess Gait Quality in Franches-Montagnes Horses for Ground Coverage and Over-Tracking - Part 1: At Walk.

Ground coverage and over-tracking are two gait quality traits describing the forward movement of the front respectively the hind limbs in relation to stride length and over-tracking distance. To investigate the complex interplay of different movement patterns in ground coverage and over-tracking, limb and body kinematics of 24 Franches-Montagnes (FM) stallions were measured with 3D optical motion capture (OMC) on a treadmill during an incremental speed test at the walk (1.4-2.

Comparing Blind and Ultrasound-Guided Retrobulbar Nerve Blocks in Equine Cadavers: The Training Effect.

In standing ophthalmic surgery in horses, a retrobulbar nerve block (RNB) is often placed blindly for anesthesia and akinesia. The ultrasound (US)-guided RNB may have fewer complications, but the two techniques have only been compared once in equine cadavers. This study compares the techniques for success and complication rates and analyzes the effect of training on US guidance.

Visual lameness assessment in comparison to quantitative gait analysis data in horses.

Background: Quantitative gait analysis offers objective information to support clinical decision-making during lameness workups including advantages in terms of documentation, communication, education, and avoidance of expectation bias. Nevertheless, hardly any data exist comparing outcome of subjective scoring with the output of objective gait analysis systems.

Objectives: To investigate between- and within-veterinarian agreement on primary lame limb and lameness grade, and to determine relationships between subjective lameness grade and quantitative data, focusing on differences between (1) veterinarians, (2) live vs video assessment, (3) baseline assessment vs assessment following diagnostic analgesia.

Continuous versus discrete data analysis for gait evaluation of horses with induced bilateral hindlimb lameness.

Background: Gait kinematics measured during equine gait analysis are typically evaluated by analysing (asymmetry-based) discrete variables (eg, peak values) obtained from continuous kinematic signals (eg, timeseries of datapoints). However, when used for the assessment of complex cases of lameness, such as bilateral lameness, discrete variable analysis might overlook relevant functional adaptations.

Objectives: The overall aim of this paper is to compare continuous and discrete data analysis techniques to evaluate kinematic gait adaptations to lameness.

Movement asymmetries in horses presented for prepurchase or lameness examination.

Background: The increasing popularity of objective gait analysis makes application in prepurchase examinations (PPE) a logical next step. Therefore, there is a need to have more understanding of asymmetry during a PPE in horses described on clinical evaluation as subtly lame.

Objectives: The objective of this study is to objectively compare asymmetry in horses raising minor vet concerns in a PPE and in horses raising major vet concerns with that found in horses presented with subtle single-limb lameness, and to investigate the effect of age/discipline on the clinicians' interpretation of asymmetry on the classification of minor vet concerns in a PPE.

Structural, compositional, and functional effects of blunt and sharp cartilage damage on the joint: A 9-month equine groove model study.

This study aimed to quantify the long-term progression of blunt and sharp cartilage defects and their effect on joint homeostasis and function of the equine carpus. In nine adult Shetland ponies, the cartilage in the radiocarpal and middle carpal joint of one front limb was grooved (blunt or sharp randomized). The ponies were subjected to an 8-week exercise protocol and euthanized at 39 weeks.

Reliable and clinically applicable gait event classification using upper body motion in walking and trotting horses.

Objectively assessing horse movement symmetry as an adjunctive to the routine lameness evaluation is on the rise with several commercially available systems on the market. Prerequisites for quantifying such symmetries include knowledge of the gait and gait events, such as hoof to ground contact patterns over consecutive strides. Extracting this information in a robust and reliable way is essential to accurately calculate many kinematic variables commonly used in the field.

Adaptation strategies of horses with induced forelimb lameness walking on a treadmill.

Background: There is a paucity of research describing the gait pattern of lame horses at the walk.

Objectives: To describe the changes in motion pattern and vertical ground reaction forces (GRFz) in horses with induced forelimb lameness at the walk and compare those changes with the changes observed at the trot.

Study Design: Experimental study.