Analysis of stride frequency and stride length in horses completing treadmill endurance exercise
Abstract
Endurance rides are a physically challenging athletic
endeavor and development of lameness is the most
common reason that horses competing over distances of 50
to 100 miles fail to finish
Thus, it is important to study the physiological effects of
fatigue and to search for easily measured parameters that
may predict fatigue and impending development of
lameness
The purpose of this study was to analyze stride frequency
and stride length as simple parameters that could be used
to indicate fatigue in endurance horses
If one or more changes in these stride characteristics
would prove to be an early indicator of fatigue, they could
prove to be a useful tool at veterinary checkpoints during
the ride to help determine if a horse is able to continue
Having more parameters to determine a horse’s
soundness during competition would increase welfare for
the horse and safety for the rider
In this study, we hypothesized that stride characteristics,
specifically stride frequency and stride length, would
change with increasing fatigue