The Effect of Kinesiotape on Flexion-Extension of the Thoracolumbar Back in Horses at Trot

The Poses for Equine Research Dataset (PFERD)

Studies of quadruped animal motion help us to identify diseases, understand behavior and unravel the mechanics behind gaits in animals. The horse is likely the best-studied animal in this aspect, but data capture is challenging and time-consuming. Computer vision techniques improve animal motion extraction, but the development relies on reference datasets, which are scarce, not open-access and often provide data from only a few anatomical landmarks. Addressing this data gap, we introduce PFERD, a video and 3D marker motion dataset from horses using a full-body set-up of densely placed over 100 skin-attached markers and synchronized videos from ten camera angles. Five horses of diverse conformations provide data for various motions from basic poses (eg. walking, trotting) to advanced motions (eg. rearing, kicking). We further express the 3D motions with current techniques and a 3D parameterized model, the hSMAL model, establishing a baseline for 3D horse markerless motion capture. PFERD enables advanced biomechanical studies and provides a resource of ground truth data for the methodological development of markerless motion capture.

Equine Musculoskeletal Pathologies: Clinical Approaches and Therapeutical Perspectives-A Review

Musculoskeletal injuries such as equine osteoarthritis, osteoarticular defects, tendonitis/desmitis, and muscular disorders are prevalent among sport horses, with a fair prognosis for returning to exercise or previous performance levels. The field of equine medicine has witnessed rapid and fruitful development, resulting in a diverse range of therapeutic options for musculoskeletal problems. Staying abreast of these advancements can be challenging, prompting the need for a comprehensive review of commonly used and recent treatments. The aim is to compile current therapeutic options for managing these injuries, spanning from simple to complex physiotherapy techniques, conservative treatments including steroidal and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, hyaluronic acid, polysulfated glycosaminoglycans, pentosan polysulfate, and polyacrylamides, to promising regenerative therapies such as hemoderivatives and stem cell-based therapies. Each therapeutic modality is scrutinized for its benefits, limitations, and potential synergistic actions to facilitate their most effective application for the intended healing/regeneration of the injured tissue/organ and subsequent patient recovery. While stem cell-based therapies have emerged as particularly promising for equine musculoskeletal injuries, a multidisciplinary approach is underscored throughout the discussion, emphasizing the importance of considering various therapeutic modalities in tandem.

Acute effects of dermal suctioning on back pain in racehorses: a pilot study

Back pain is a common clinical condition that leads to poor performance in racehorses. Therefore, horse owners would benefit from a suitable and effective treatment that results in the early recovery of their horses. Dermal suctioning significantly improves chronic lower back pain in humans. Thus, if a similar effect were to be found in racehorses, it could become a new treatment for back pain in horses. In this study, we examined the acute effects of dermal suctioning on back pain in racehorses. Twelve Thoroughbred racehorses with back pain underwent 10 min of dermal suctioning in the thoracolumbar region. The pain score, mechanical nociceptive threshold (MNT), heart rate variability (HRV), and plasma cortisol concentrations were measured. Results showed that pain scores were significantly improved immediately after dermal suctioning (P=0.028), while MNT, HRV, and plasma cortisol concentrations did not show significant changes (P>0.05). These results indicate that dermal suctioning immediately relieves pain but has a limited effect on the other three parameters.

Application of kinesiology taping to equine abdominal musculature in a tension frame for muscle facilitation increases longitudinal activity at the trot

BACKGROUND

Kinesiology taping (KT) has been used on human subjects for many years. More recently, KT has been used in sport horses. The physiological mechanisms involved remain unclear and its benefits are controversial.

OBJECTIVES

To investigate the effects of application of kinesiology taping to abdominal muscles on locomotor parameters before and after lungeing exercise in horses.

STUDY DESIGN

Cross-over study.

METHODS

Eleven horses were tested twice, once with an application of KT without tension on abdominal muscles (condition 1) and once with a facilitation application of KT on abdominal muscles (condition 2). A triaxial accelerometric device, located in the trunk (Equimetrix system^® ), was used at walk and trot in hand on a straight line before (30 min after the KT application) and after a lungeing session. Locomotor parameters were calculated, including stride frequency, regularity and symmetry, dorsoventral displacement and dorsoventral, mediolateral and longitudinal activities.

RESULTS

At trot, the longitudinal activity was significantly higher for condition 2 than for condition 1, before (7.6 ± 1.8 W/kg vs. 5.4 ± 2.2 W/kg, P = .02) and after (7.3 ± 1.3 W/kg vs. 6.1 ± 1.7 W/kg, P = .005) the lungeing session.

MAIN LIMITATIONS

The speed was not measured. The recording conditions and the experimenter, unaware of conditions, were the same for all horses to limit variations.

CONCLUSIONS

Kinesiology taping on abdominal muscles immediately increased longitudinal activity at trot in hand and this benefit was still present after a lungeing session. Longitudinal activity is a sought-after quality; thus, this method could be used as a way to enhance a training program. Future investigations are needed to confirm this result in horses being ridden.

Using Different Combinations of Body-Mounted IMU Sensors to Estimate Speed of Horses-A Machine Learning Approach

Speed is an essential parameter in biomechanical analysis and general locomotion research. It is possible to estimate the speed using global positioning systems (GPS) or inertial measurement units (IMUs). However, GPS requires a consistent signal connection to satellites, and errors accumulate during IMU signals integration. In an attempt to overcome these issues, we have investigated the possibility of estimating the horse speed by developing machine learning (ML) models using the signals from seven body-mounted IMUs. Since motion patterns extracted from IMU signals are different between breeds and gaits, we trained the models based on data from 40 Icelandic and Franches-Montagnes horses during walk, trot, tölt, pace, and canter. In addition, we studied the estimation accuracy between IMU locations on the body (sacrum, withers, head, and limbs). The models were evaluated per gait and were compared between ML algorithms and IMU location. The model yielded the highest estimation accuracy of speed (RMSE = 0.25 m/s) within equine and most of human speed estimation literature. In conclusion, highly accurate horse speed estimation models, independent of IMU(s) location on-body and gait, were developed using ML.