VIDEOGRAPHIC KINEMATIC ANALYSIS OF LAME HINDLIMB EQUINE MOVEMENTS.

Abstract

Lameness is one of the most common and complex locomotor disorders which compromises the athletic horse. Qualitative gait analysis is an important tool for equine lameness evaluation, applied by most of veterinary clinicians. This method is used to assign the lameness grade, but like any subjective method, it demands the clinician experience. Videographic kinematic analysis is a quantitative method that offers great accuracy without the biases of a qualitative assessment. The aim of the present study was to quantify the effects of a lame and nonlame hindlimb on the horse movement using three dimensional kinematic analyses based on cinematography. Six sound Purebred Arabian horses were filmed on a treadmill, at walk and trot, before and after induction of lameness. Lameness was induced in the left hindlimb using a transient lameness model. On both gaits, the animals demonstrated two vertical head movements per stride and after the induction of lameness this movement showed greater amplitude. After inducing lameness, the animals increased the stance time for the non-lame limbs and a global reduction in the stride length was observed. Changes details in the horse movements, which are important in the diagnosis of lameness, were provided by videographic analyses.

KEY-WORDS:

Biomechanics. Cinematographic. Gait analysis. Lameness.