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Author |
McGuigan, M.P.; Wilson, A.M. |
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Title |
The effect of gait and digital flexor muscle activation on limb compliance in the forelimb of the horse Equus caballus |
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Journal Article |
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Year |
2003 |
Publication |
The Journal of Experimental Biology |
Abbreviated Journal ![sorted by Abbreviated Journal field, ascending order (up)](img/sort_asc.gif) |
J Exp Biol |
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Volume |
206 |
Issue |
Pt 8 |
Pages |
1325-1336 |
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Keywords |
Animals; Biomechanics; Forelimb/anatomy & histology/*physiology; Gait/*physiology; Horses/anatomy & histology/*physiology; Muscle Contraction/*physiology; Running |
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Abstract |
A horse's legs are compressed during the stance phase, storing and then returning elastic strain energy in spring-like muscle-tendon units. The arrangement of the muscle-tendon units around the lever-like joints means that as the leg shortens the muscle-tendon units are stretched. The forelimb anatomy means that the leg can be conceptually divided into two springs: the proximal spring, from the scapula to the elbow, and the distal spring, from the elbow to the foot. In this paper we report the results of a series of experiments testing the hypothesis that there is minimal scope for muscle contraction in either spring to adjust limb compliance. Firstly, we demonstrate that the distal, passive leg spring changes length by 127 mm (range 106-128 mm) at gallop and the proximal spring by 12 mm (9-15 mm). Secondly, we demonstrate that there is a linear relationship between limb force and metacarpo-phalangeal (MCP) joint angle that is minimally influenced by digital flexor muscle activation in vitro or as a function of gait in vivo. Finally, we determined the relationship between MCP joint angle and vertical ground-reaction force at trot and then predicted the forelimb peak vertical ground-reaction force during a 12 m s(-1) gallop on a treadmill. These were 12.79 N kg(-1) body mass (BM) (range 12.07-13.73 N kg(-1) BM) for the lead forelimb and 15.23 N kg(-1) BM (13.51-17.10 N kg(-1) BM) for the non-lead forelimb. |
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Address |
Structure and Motion Laboratory, Veterinary Basic Sciences, The Royal Veterinary College, Hawkshead Lane, North Mymms, Hatfield, Hertfordshire AL9 7TA, UK. m.p.mcguigan@leeds.ac.uk |
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0022-0949 |
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PMID:12624168 |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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3655 |
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Author |
Powers, P.; Harrison, A. |
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Title |
Effects of the rider on the linear kinematics of jumping horses |
Type |
Journal Article |
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Year |
2002 |
Publication |
Sports Biomechanics / International Society of Biomechanics in Sports |
Abbreviated Journal ![sorted by Abbreviated Journal field, ascending order (up)](img/sort_asc.gif) |
Sports Biomech |
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Volume |
1 |
Issue |
2 |
Pages |
135-146 |
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Keywords |
Animals; Behavior, Animal/*physiology; Biomechanics; Communication; Exertion/*physiology; Gait/*physiology; Horses/*physiology; Humans; Locomotion/*physiology; Posture/*physiology; Task Performance and Analysis; Video Recording; Weight-Bearing/*physiology |
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Abstract |
This study examined the effects of the rider on the linear projectile kinematics of show-jumping horses. SVHS video recordings (50 Hz) of eight horses jumping a vertical fence 1 m high were used for the study. Horses jumped the fence under two conditions: loose (no rider or tack) and ridden. Recordings were digitised using Peak Motus. After digitising the sequences, each rider's digitised data were removed from the ridden horse data so that three conditions were examined: loose, ridden (including the rider's data) and riderless (rider's data removed). Repeated measures ANOVA revealed significant differences between ridden and loose conditions for CG height at take-off (p < 0.001), CG distance to the fence at take-off (p = 0.001), maximum CG during the suspension phase (p < 0.001), CG position over the centre of the fence (p < 0.001), CG height at landing (p < 0.001), and vertical velocity at take-off (p < 0.001). The results indicated that the rider's effect on jumping horses was primarily due to behavioural changes in the horses motion (resulting from the rider's instruction), rather than inertial effects (due to the positioning of the rider on the horse). These findings have implications for the coaching of riders and horses. |
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Address |
Department of PE and Sports Sciences, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland |
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1476-3141 |
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PMID:14658371 |
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1904 |
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