Abstract
Tungsten road nails are commonly used by farriers to increase grip between the hoof and the ground surface. There is limited evidence relating the use of road nails to the fundamental mechanics of movement. Grip is important for efficient deceleration on landing and subsequent propulsion, but this must be balanced against an amount of slip to divide the landing force into horizontal as well as vertical subcomponents. Here, we conducted an intervention study to quantify the effect of lateral heel road nail placement on weight bearing and propulsion in 10 horses trotting on tarmac. Wireless inertial measurement units measured vertical movement asymmetry. Differences in head and pelvic movement asymmetry before/after subsequent application of laterally placed road nails to forelimb and hindlimb hooves in a randomized order were compared to zero value (no change) with a one-sample t-test, P < .05. Left-to-right tuber coxae movement amplitude difference was significantly more negative (−3.25 mm, P = .03), suggesting more right than left tuber coxae movement amplitude, after application of a road nail to the left hindlimb. No movement asymmetries at the poll, withers, or sacrum were detected after nail placement (all P > .055). Pelvic movement indicates a very small increase in weight bearing and propulsion provided by the hindlimb with a laterally placed road nail compared to the contralateral hindlimb. Further work is needed to investigate slip- and grip-related parameters at the level of the hoof and to investigate the long-term consequences of very small changes in movement asymmetry.
Highlights
Horseshoes operate at the interface between horses’ hooves and the surfaces they are moving over.Modulating fundamental characteristics of the hoof-surface interface, such as friction, traction, shock damping or the parameters of the propulsive effort [1] can be achieved in two ways: 1) adapting surface characteristics; or 2) modifying the shoeing regime
Movement asymmetry values for the head, withers and pelvis of all horses and descriptive statistics can be found in table 1 for the baseline condition, i.e. before application of any road nails
Variation across horses is considerable with the most negative baseline asymmetry value found as -31 mm and the most positive baseline asymmetry value as +20 mm
Summary
Horseshoes operate at the interface between horses’ hooves and the surfaces they are moving over. Modulating fundamental characteristics of the hoof-surface interface, such as friction, traction, shock damping or the parameters of the propulsive effort [1] can be achieved in two ways: 1) adapting surface characteristics; or 2) modifying the shoeing regime. Adapting multi-user surfaces, such as roads, to horse specific requirements is difficult to justify if this compromises the safety or efficiency of other users, such as motor vehicles. In this case, it may be more appropriate to alter a horse’s shoes to achieve the required shoe-surface interaction. Horseshoes serve the additional purpose of protecting the hooves against excessive wear on these surfaces [8]
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