Comparison of the stride kinematics of the collected, medium, and extended walks in horses

SUMMARY Six horses, highly trained for dressage competition, were used to study the stride kinematics of the walk, and to compare the kinematics of the collected, medium, and extended walks. Horses were filmed in a sagittal plane at a rate of 150 frames/s; temporal, linear, and angular data were extracted from the films. Results of anova and Duncan's multiple range test indicated that the speed of the collected walk (1.37 m/s) was significantly ( P < 0.01) slower than that of the medium (1.73 m/s) and extended (1.82 m/s) walks, values for which were not significantly different from each other. The increase in speed was associated with a significant increase in stride length, from 157 cm in the collected walk to 193 cm in the extended walk. This was a result of an increase in the over-tracking distance, whereas there was no significant difference in the distance between lateral placements of the limbs. Stride duration decreased ( P < 0.01) from the collected walk (1,159 ms) to the extended walk (1,064 ms). Angles of the metacarpal and metatarsal segments, measured on the palmar/plantar aspect, were higher at impact and lower at lift off in the collected than in the extended walk ( P < 0.01). This indicated greater range of angular motion of this segment during the stance phase in the extended walk. Only 1 of the 6 horses had a regular 4-beat rhythm of the footfalls, with equal time elapsing between the lateral and diagonal footfalls.