Many factors associated with the saddle and the rider could produce pain in horses thus reducing performance. However, studies of horse-saddle-rider interactions are limited and determining their effects remains challenging. The aim of this study was to test a novel method for assessing equine thoracic and lumbar spinal movement under the saddle and collect data during trotting. Back movement was measured using inertial measurement units (n = 5) fixed at the levels of thoracic vertebrae T6, T12 and T16, and lumbar vertebrae L2 and L5. To compare unridden and ridden conditions, three horses were trotted in hand then at the rising trot (seated phase: left diagonal, rider seated; standing phase: right diagonal, rider standing). The protraction-retraction angles of the forelimbs and the hind limbs were also calculated in two dimensions (2D) using reflective markers. To compare conditions, linear mixed-effects regression models were used and estimated means (standard error) were calculated. The range of motion (ROM) of the caudal thoracic and thoracolumbar regions decreased respectively by -1.3 (0.4)° and -0.6 (0.2)° during the seated phase compared to the unridden condition. Concomitantly, the ROM of protraction and retraction angles increased in the ridden condition. This study demonstrated the ability of inertial measurement units to assess equine vertebral movements under the saddle. The rider, at the rising trot, affected the horse's global locomotion with measurable changes in the vertebral kinematics under the saddle.
Keywords: Back; Inertial measurement units; Kinematics; Riding; Trot.
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