Ridecamp: [RC] FW: message posted by guest

(forwarded for Jonni)

-----Original Message-----
From: Jonni [mailto:JonniJ@xxxxxxxx]
Sent: Tuesday, November 05, 2002 8:04 PM
To: steph@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: message posted by guest


>From jonnij@xxxxxxxx

subject: Trot vs. canter/study

Someone started the thread on canter vs. trot, asking if any studies have
been done involving treadmills etc. As a matter of fact, yes, Cal Poly
Pomona has been doing a study for a few years now. I had donated a horse for
them to use in the study. The horses were worked on the treadmill at
different speeds, walking, trotting, cantering, and a gallop. They would
document speed, vitals, including P&R's etc.. They then would put the horses
at liberty in a field, and document speed the animal moved from point A to
point B. (complicated to explain the training) The study was indication that
the horses would travel at a preferred speed, that matched the speed that
seemed the less stressful on the treadmill work. Often, the extended trot,
was more stress than when they broke into a canter. I don't have the full
study. Maybe someone can contact Dr. Wickler, and see if it is still on
going. Here is an article I found on line, which does not tell me much, but
some of the more scientific types might get something out of it:


From:
www.neosoft.com/~iaep/pages/membersonly/vetperiodicals/aesm/aesm98/aesm98abs
t.html

Is there a "best" speed for horses?

Steven J. Wickler, Charnelcie Lewis, Sylvia Magana, Donald F. Hoyt. Equine
Research Center, Calif. State Polytechnic Univ., Pomona, CA 91768

Within a gait, there is a wide range of possible speeds. However, earlier
work on ponies (Hoyt and Taylor, Nature, 1981) indicated that when given a
choice, these ponies would preferentially choose a relatively narrow range
of speeds, i.e., a preferred speed. To test this in horses, 5 mature,
Arabian horses were trained to treadmill and voice commands. On the
treadmill, animals would trot at speeds from approximately 2.0 m/s to 5.5
m/s. In the field, animals were trained to walk and trot in a straight 50 m
line, using only verbal commands. Three timers measured the speed of the
horse with stopwatches as it passed through two, consecutive 6 m zones
(corrected for parallax). To assure a constant speed, the velocity between
the two zones had to agree within 10%. Speeds between timers had to agree
with 5% of one another. The mean preferred speed ranged from 3.02 + 0.12 to
3.70 + 0.25 m/s (mean + std. dev). Hypotheses to explain this concept of
preferred speed include: 1) that it is energetically the most efficient
speed; 2) that it is the speed that minimizes forces on the limb. In either
case, an argument can be made for the concept of a "best" speed, i.e., one
that allows the animal to travel further or reduces force on the limbs. How
these speeds should be modified in response to load carrying (e.g., riders)
and terrain are currently under analysis. Supported by NIH grant
#IS06GM/53933OlAI and by the Center for Equine Health with funds provided by
the Oak Tree Racing Association, the State of California satellite wagering
fund, and contributions by private donors.

Here are a couple more links with a little info:

http://www.calstate.edu/newsline/Archive/00-01/000814-Pom.shtml
http://www.csupomona.edu/~public_affairs/cpp_web/releases/pdf-0001/R0001-22.
pdf




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