Kinematics of the standardbred trotter measured at 6, 7, 8 and 9 m/s on a treadmill, before and after 5 months of prerace training.

A kinematic study was performed on a group of 8 Standardbred stallions. Recordings were done using a modified CODA-3 optoelectronic kinematic analysis system with the horses running on a treadmill at speeds of 6, 7, 8, or 9 m/s. Linear and temporal gait characteristics, joint angle diagrams and the trajectories of the hoof in a plane perpendicular to the direction of movement were studied. Two consecutive recording sessions were held at an age of 21-23 months, and a third was held 5 months later after an intensive training period. Joint angle diagrams appeared to show a similar pattern for all horses though certain individual characteristics could be identified. Only a few kinematic parameters appeared to have significantly changed after the 5-month training period (p < 0.05). The hoof trajectories showed marked and consistent differences between front and hind hooves, but the most striking feature was the very individual character of the patterns exhibited, leading to the assumption that these patterns could possibly be used as the 'fingerprint' of the horse.