Biomechanical Efficiency

The horse is an amazing athlete, with great speed and endurance considering his body size and weight. For the past 20 years, researchers have evaluated what makes the equine locomotive system so efficient for racing and other strenuous

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The horse is an amazing athlete, with great speed and endurance considering his body size and weight. For the past 20 years, researchers have evaluated what makes the equine locomotive system so efficient for racing and other strenuous performance activities. But why are some horses better, more efficient movers than others?


Hilary Clayton, BVMS, PhD, Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, Michigan State University, has done extensive research evaluating equine locomotion. She defines biomechanical efficiency as the efficiency of converting chemical energy from the horse’s food into mechanical energy as locomotion. The goal is for the limbs to move the animal as far or as fast as possible for the smallest amount of food intake (like a fuel-efficient vehicle). Unique structural arrangements make leg movement more efficient, such as being able to use elastic springs (tendons) instead of having to use fuel energy in the muscles. Using the leverage of the leg is another factor.


Energy-Efficient Leg Movement


One thing that aids biomechanical efficiency is the way the horse swings his legs forward. “Energy is needed to accelerate the leg and then decelerate it before it hits the ground,” says Clayton. “If you envision the horse on a treadmill, where the ‘ground’ is moving but the horse’s body is not, the leg rotates backward underneath the stationary body as the hoof is carried back by the moving treadmill belt. He pushes off against the treadmill, then accelerates the limb through the air so that it overtakes his stationary body, then decelerates it again relative to his body before it hits the treadmill belt

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Heather Smith Thomas ranches with her husband near Salmon, Idaho, raising cattle and a few horses. She has a B.A. in English and history from University of Puget Sound (1966). She has raised and trained horses for 50 years, and has been writing freelance articles and books nearly that long, publishing 20 books and more than 9,000 articles for horse and livestock publications. Some of her books include Understanding Equine Hoof Care, The Horse Conformation Handbook, Care and Management of Horses, Storey’s Guide to Raising Horses and Storey’s Guide to Training Horses. Besides having her own blog, www.heathersmiththomas.blogspot.com, she writes a biweekly blog at https://insidestorey.blogspot.com that comes out on Tuesdays.

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