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The reliability of force platform data from trotting horses

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 March 2007

JA Lynch ,
HM Clayton  and
DR Mullineaux
JA Lynch
Affiliation:
Mary Anne McPhail Equine Performance Center, Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
HM Clayton*
Affiliation:
Mary Anne McPhail Equine Performance Center, Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
DR Mullineaux
Affiliation:
Mary Anne McPhail Equine Performance Center, Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
*
*claytonh@cvm.msu.edu
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Abstract

The aim of the present study was to quantify the inter-day reliability of force platform data from horses at the trot. The subjects were ten horses judged to be sound on the basis of clinical evaluation and similarity of ground reaction force peaks of left and right limbs. The same handler trotted horses in hand for four consecutive days over a force platform at their natural and comfortable velocity between 2.70 and 3.60 m s−1. For each horse, velocity was controlled in a range of±0.15 m s−1. Five contacts per limb were recorded on each day. Custom-written code in MATLAB was used to smooth the data and time-normalize to 101 data points. The agreement boundary was used to determine the reliability of seven force variables. Stance duration, peak vertical force and vertical impulse were the most reliable variables (<10% variability in the mean), while peak braking and propulsive forces and impulses had larger variation across the three days (>20% variability in the mean). Variables with low variability may require fewer animals, trials and days to obtain accurate data while maintaining adequate statistical power. These results may act both as a reference when studying variability in lame horses and as a guide for planning future equine kinetic studies.

Keywords

ground reaction forceagreement boundarystatistical powervariability
Type
Research Article
Information
Equine and Comparative Exercise Physiology , Volume 2 , Issue 2 , May 2005 , pp. 129 - 132
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2005

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