Abstract:
Equine back pain is prevalent among ridden horses and is often attributed to poor saddle fit. An alternative explanation is that saddle fits are technically good but fit to the wrong configuration. Saddles are fit for the standing horse, but much of the time ridden is instead spent locomoting when the back experiences the greatest peak forces. We used an array of cameras to reconstruct the surface of the back and its movement during trot, walk and standing for five horses. We verified the setup\'s accuracy by reconstructing a laser-scanned life-sized model horse. Our reconstructions demonstrate that saddles sit within a large, relatively low-mobile region of the back. However, saddles do sit adjacent to the highly mobile withers, which demands care in positioning and design around this important region. Critically, we identified that saddle curvature between standing and moving horses is substantially different, where trotting and walking horses have flatter backs than their standing configurations. Saddles designed around the locomoting configuration of horses may improve horse welfare by being better fit and decreasing the focal pressures applied by saddles.
摘要:
马背痛在骑马的马匹中普遍存在,通常归因于鞍座配合不良。另一种解释是,鞍座配合在技术上是好的,但适合错误的配置。马鞍适合站立的马,但是,当背部经历最大的峰值力量时,大部分时间都花在了运动上。我们使用了一系列相机来重建背部的表面及其在小跑过程中的运动,步行和站立五匹马。我们通过重建激光扫描真人大小的模型马验证了设置的准确性。我们的重建表明,鞍座坐在一个大的,相对较低的后部移动区域。然而,鞍座确实坐在高度移动的马肩旁,这需要在这个重要区域的定位和设计中小心。严重的,我们发现站立和移动的马之间的鞍座曲率有很大不同,小跑和走路的马的背部比站立的姿势更平。围绕马的运动配置设计的马鞍可以通过更好地贴合和减少马鞍施加的焦点压力来改善马匹的福利。