Physiological response to weight carrying and associations with conformation traits in Icelandic horses used for tour riding.

Background: Weight carrying capacity is an important trait in riding horses and it may be associated with conformation. This study examined the physiological response to a ridden incremental weight carrying test in 16 adult Icelandic horses used for tour riding. Horses carried 20% (BWR), 25% (BWR), 30% (BWR) and 35% (BWR) of their body weight (BW) in tölt (~ 5.

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.

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.

Timing of Vertical Head, Withers and Pelvis Movements Relative to the Footfalls in Different Equine Gaits and Breeds.

Knowledge of vertical motion patterns of the axial body segments is a prerequisite for the development of algorithms used in automated detection of lameness. To date, the focus has been on the trot. This study investigates the temporal synchronization between vertical motion of the axial body segments with limb kinematic events in walk and trot across three popular types of sport horses (19 Warmbloods, 23 Iberians, 26 Icelandics) that are known to have different stride kinematics, and it presents novel data describing vertical motion of the axial body segments in tölting and pacing Icelandic horses.

Increased body fat content in horses alters metabolic and physiological exercise response, decreases performance, and increases locomotion asymmetry.

This study examined the effect of altered body weight (BW) and body fat content on exercise performance and recovery. Nine horses were divided into two groups, and changes in BW and fat content were induced by feeding a high (HA) or restricted (RA) energy allowance for 36 days in a cross-over design. In the last week of each treatment, BW and body condition score (BCS) were recorded, body fat percentage was estimated using ultrasound, and a standardized incremental treadmill exercise test (SET) and competition-like field test were performed (scored by judges blinded to treatments).