Arena Surface Impacts Fetlock Kinematics in Extended Trot

Researchers confirmed that footing properties could impact dressage horses’ risk for suspensory ligament injury.
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Researchers have made great strides in understanding how footing surfaces impact racehorses’ limb kinematics. For example, Susan Stover, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACVS, and colleagues have learned that the forces that impact racehorses’ legs are higher and fetlock extension is greater on dirt than on synthetic surfaces. Additionally, they’ve found that racehorses’ musculoskeletal injury rate correlates with the surface—dirt is associated with a higher risk of injury than is synthetic footing.

But, of course, it’s not just racehorses that work on different footings and could be at risk of injury on those surfaces. As such, Stover, professor of anatomy, physiology, and cell biology at University of California, Davis (UC Davis), along with Jill Thornton, DVM, of UC Davis’ JD Wheat Veterinary Orthopedic Research Laboratory, and colleagues looked at whether footing impacted dressage horses’ fetlock kinematics during the extended trot. Stover presented the group’s research at the 2016 American Association of Equine Practitioners’ Convention, held Dec. 3-7 in Orlando, Florida.

“Dressage requires unique, extreme movements,” Stover said, “and repetitive movements can result in occupational injury.”

One of the most common injuries dressage horses suffer is to the suspensory ligament, which plays a major role in supporting the fetlock during weight-bearing, she said. Many factors impact fetlock motion and suspensory elongation, including the hoof-ground reaction force (GRF; an increased GRF increases the force on the structures, stretching the suspensory further, she said). An arena surface’s characteristics affect the magnitude of the GRF

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Erica Larson, former news editor for The Horse, holds a degree in journalism with an external specialty in equine science from Michigan State University in East Lansing. A Massachusetts native, she grew up in the saddle and has dabbled in a variety of disciplines including foxhunting, saddle seat, and mounted games. Currently, Erica competes in eventing with her OTTB, Dorado.

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