Inertial motion sensor analysis completed on 31 Swedish Warmblood and 23 Standardbred foals showed that uneven movement was common, even when owners considered the foals to be sound.
Dr. Ebba Zetterberg and researchers from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences were trying to determine whether asymmetrical movement in horses was because of pain or other reasons, like biological variations. If the asymmetry was biologic, the researchers hypothesized that it would be seen at a very young age.
Study foals ranged in age from 4 to 13 weeks; inertial sensors were placed on the horses and readings were taken as the horses trotted in a straight line.
Thresholds to determine “asymmetry” were set at more than 6mm for the head and more than 3mm for the pelvis. Differences in values were recorded for the head and the pelvis; differences between the left and right stance were calculated for each stride. An average was computed for each trial.
The scientists determined that the thresholds were exceeded by 83 percent of the Standardbred foals and 45 percent of the Warmblood foals, meaning that these horses moved asymmetrically. This is a surprisingly high prevalence of asymmetry in foals, the scientists report.
They do note that hard-and-fast thresholds to determine what is “normal” may not be of use in horses that are presumed to be sound; these thresholds do allow for comparison to results of other studies, however. Another possible issue is that the inertial sensor system the researchers used is designed for adult horses, not foals, so the asymmetry values may not be directly translatable.
The Standardbred foals showed similar asymmetries to those previously reported in yearling Standardbred trotters, the team said. A higher prevalence of movement asymmetries may be expected among trotters as a breed.
The team concludes that ongoing measurements could provide information on individual fluctuations over time, which could relate to handling, training or development. A better understanding of asymmetry causes is needed to correctly interpret the information given by the inertial sensors.
If horses move asymmetrically from birth in their own gait signature, and the asymmetry is unrelated to pain, it may be difficult to determine how non-lame, older horses with asymmetries should be evaluated. The individual horse may need to serve as its own control for evaluating asymmetries when the horse doesn't appear to be lame.
Read more at HorseTalk.
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