Heart Rate
&
Gait Analysis
The expert eye can detect lameness fairly accurately but what if we could detect it earlier? Even before the human eye can detect any changes? Or what if we are unsure where exactly the lameness is originating?
Using inertial sensors we can now precisely measure, register, compare and analyze equine movement.
The sensors are attached to the horse’s body at specific points such as the poll, whiters and lumbo-sacral region. The sensors register extremely precise movements in six dimensions and register up to five times more movements (FPS, measurements) than the eye can detect. As such lameness or a deviation in gait patterns can be detect much sooner.
The sensors track and measure the following:
· Frequency of stride
· Impact of foot fall
· Regularity of stride
· Stride Pattern
· Rythm of stride
· Acceleration of stride
· Stride swing phase and landing
Gait analysis can prove extremely useful in the tracking the progress of your horse during rehabilitation following an injury or surgery. Additionally, it can help you better understand how your horse moves and how to adapt your riding/training in function of this.
The biggest advantage of the system we use is that no clinical setting is required, in fact we can even come to you for the analysis. This may prove especially useful in cases your horse cannot be transported, you wish to get the effect of your saddle/riding checked on your horse’s gaits, your farrier or veterinarian wants to do a before and after evaluation, etc. We can do a full gait assessment in hand, on the lunge, ridden and can even show you the effect the water treadmill has on your horses way of moving.
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For more information or to make an appointment please do not hesitate to contact us.
Knowing your horse's basic heart rate at rest, walk, trot and canter provides a lot of information about the general fitness of your horse. It can also help you determine whether any additional training or other training methods may be required. Finally, heart rate measurements also provide information about stress, whether this is environmental stress or internal stress due to pain or discomfort.
In walk the heart rate varies between 40 and 75, in trot between 75 and 125 and during canter the heart rate can rise above 180. The ranges of the heart rate differs greatly per horse, so for heart rate measurement in horses we do not work with standard values, but we look at each horse individually. It is important to first know the so-called zero values ​​of your horse, these are the basic values ​​under normal (low stress) conditions.
Without first determining this, one cannot make a comparison and therefore cannot check whether the horse has a higher or indeed a lower heart rate than “normal”. Furthermore, we also have to look at the breed of the horse, as this too determines heart rate ranges, and the general basic fitness of the horse at the time of the first measurement.
Not only the values ​​​​during training or physical activity are important, but also the values ​​​​at rest. To be more specific; the time it takes for the horse to return to a reduced or normal heart rate after physical exertion. A shorter recovery period between periods off or after physical activity indicates a better functioning of the muscles and an improvement in the general condition of the horse.
Heart rate measurements are done by attaching a sensor to a lunging girth or saddle girth. Measurements can be taken in walk, trot, canter on the lunge or ridden and even during an equine treadmill session (in walk only).
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For more information or to make an appointment please do not hesitate to contact us.