Influence of trimming, hoof angle and shoeing on breakover duration in sound horses examined with hoof‐mounted inertial sensors

et al. 2021

Preprint

Understanding the effect of horseshoe-surface combinations on hoof kinematics at gallop is relevant for optimising performance and minimising injury in racehorse-jockey dyads. This intervention study assessed hoof breakover duration in Thoroughbred ex-racehorses from the British Racing School galloping on turf and artificial tracks in four shoeing conditions: barefoot, aluminium-rubber composite (GluShu), aluminium and steel. Shoe-surface combinations were tested in a randomized order and horse-rider pairings (n=14) remained constant. High-speed video cameras (Sony DSC-RX100M5) filmed the hoof-ground interactions at 1000 frames per second. The time taken for a hoof marker wand fixed to the lateral hoof wall to rotate through an angle of 90 degrees during 384 breakover events was quantified using Tracker software. Data were collected for leading and non-leading front and hind limbs, at gallop speeds ranging from 23–56 km h-1. Linear mixed-models assessed whether speed, surface, shoeing condition or any interaction between these parameters (fixed factors) significantly affected breakover duration. Day and horse-rider pair were included as random factors and speed was included as a covariate. The significance threshold was set at p&lt;0.05. For all limbs, breakover times decreased as gallop speed increased (p&lt;0.0005), although a greater relative reduction in breakover duration for hindlimbs was apparent beyond approximately 45 km h-1. Breakover duration was longer on turf compared to the artificial surface (p≤0.04). In the non-leading hindlimb only, breakover duration was affected by shoeing condition (p=0.025) and an interaction between shoeing condition and speed (p=0.023). Future work seeks to relate these results to hoof accelerometer data.

Section: A 41 the Role Of Speedsupporting

confidence: 89%

Section: A 41 the Role Of Speedsupporting

confidence: 75%

Influence of Speed, Ground Surface and Shoeing Condition on Hoof Breakover Duration in Galloping Thoroughbred Racehorses

Horan¹,

Coburn²,

et al. 2021

Preprint

“…The reduction in breakover duration observed with increasing gallop speed is consistent with observations in walk and trot, which highlight breakover duration to be a primarily speed-dependent variable [29]. Our data additionally highlight an interesting distinction between breakover duration in hindlimbs and forelimbs, which is dependent on gallop speed.…”

Section: The Role Of Speedsupporting

confidence: 89%

“…Given the variability between the forelimb and hindlimb data, these results support the notion that breakover in forelimbs and hindlimbs should be evaluated separately [13,29]. However, this study additionally found important differences arose between the individual limbs in response to shoeing condition (see Section 4.3), suggesting a limb-by-limb approach is most appropriate for interpreting data from this asymmetric gait.…”

Section: The Role Of Speedsupporting

confidence: 74%

Influence of Speed, Ground Surface and Shoeing Condition on Hoof Breakover Duration in Galloping Thoroughbred Racehorses

Horan

Coburn²,

et al. 2021

Animals

Understanding the effect of horseshoe–surface combinations on hoof kinematics at gallop is relevant for optimising performance and minimising injury in racehorse–jockey dyads. This intervention study assessed hoof breakover duration in Thoroughbred ex-racehorses from the British Racing School galloping on turf and artificial tracks in four shoeing conditions: aluminium, barefoot, aluminium–rubber composite (GluShu) and steel. Shoe–surface combinations were tested in a randomized order and horse–jockey pairings (n = 14) remained constant. High-speed video cameras (Sony DSC-RX100M5) filmed the hoof-ground interactions at 1000 frames per second. The time taken for a hoof marker wand fixed to the lateral hoof wall to rotate through an angle of 90 degrees during 384 breakover events was quantified using Tracker software. Data were collected for leading and non-leading forelimbs and hindlimbs, at gallop speeds ranging from 23–56 km h−1. Linear mixed-models assessed whether speed, surface, shoeing condition and any interaction between these parameters (fixed factors) significantly affected breakover duration. Day and horse–jockey pair were included as random factors and speed was included as a covariate. The significance threshold was set at p < 0.05. For all limbs, breakover times decreased as gallop speed increased (p < 0.0005), although a greater relative reduction in breakover duration for hindlimbs was apparent beyond approximately 45 km h−1. Breakover duration was longer on turf compared to the artificial surface (p ≤ 0.04). In the non-leading hindlimb only, breakover duration was affected by shoeing condition (p = 0.025) and an interaction between shoeing condition and speed (p = 0.023). This work demonstrates that speed, ground surface and shoeing condition are important factors influencing the galloping gait of the Thoroughbred racehorse.

“…The influence of shoeing on horse upper body motion has also been reported, including the effect lateral hindlimb road nails and orthotic lifts have on increasing pelvic motion in trotting horses [76,77]. The nature of the hoof trim can also be influential to gait kinematics, including breakover duration [78][79][80][81], although this finding is not universal [82]. However, data collected from horses used in other equestrian disciplines and at slower gaits are not directly relatable to the racehorse.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hoof Impact and Foot-off Accelerations in Galloping Thoroughbred Racehorses Trialling Eight Shoe-Surface Combinations

Horan¹,

Coburn²,

et al. 2022

Preprint

The athletic performance and safety of racehorses is influenced by hoof-surface interactions. This intervention study assessed the effect of eight horseshoe-surface combinations on hoof acceleration patterns at impact and foot-off in 14 galloping Thoroughbred racehorses retired from racing. Aluminium, barefoot, GluShu (aluminium-rubber composite) and steel shoeing conditions were trialled on turf and artificial (Martin Collins Activ-Track) surfaces. Shod conditions were applied across all four hooves. Tri-axial accelerometers (SlamStickX, range ±500 g, sampling rate 5000 Hz) were attached to the dorsal hoof wall (x: medio-lateral, medial=positive; y: along dorsal hoof wall, proximal=positive; z: perpendicular to hoof wall, dorsal=positive). Linear mixed models assessed whether surface, shoeing condition or stride time influenced maximum (most positive) or minimum (most negative) accelerations in x, y and z directions, using ≥40,691 strides (significance at p&lt;0.05). Day and horse-rider pair were included as random factors and stride time as a covariate. Collective mean accelerations across x, y and z axes were 22–98 g at impact and 17–89 g at foot-off. Mean stride time was 0.48 ± 0.07 s (mean ± 2 s.d.). Impact accelerations were larger on turf in all directions for forelimbs and hindlimbs (p≤0.015), with the exception of forelimb z-minimum, and in absolute terms maximum values were typically double minimum values. Surface-type affected all foot-off accelerations (p≤0.022), with the exception of hindlimb x-maximum; for example, there was an average increase of 17% in z-maximum across limbs on the artificial track. Shoe-type influenced all impact and foot-off accelerations in forelimb and hindlimb datasets (p≤0.024), with the exception of hindlimb impact y-maximum. Barefoot hooves generally experienced the lowest accelerations. Stride time affected all impact and foot-off accelerations (p<0.001). Identifying factors influencing hoof vibrations on landing and hoof motion during propulsion bears implication for injury risk and racing outcomes.