Abstract
Tranquilization of horses with acepromazine has been used to suppress erratic head movements and increase the accuracy of a lameness examination. Some equine clinicians believe that tranquilization with acepromazine will make lameness more evident by causing the horse to focus on adjusting its gait to avoid limb pain rather than its surroundings. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of acepromazine on the Lyapunov exponents of lame horses. Ten lame horses were trotted in a straight line for a minimum of 25 strides. Kinematic data created by head movement were analyzed. Nonlinear analysis methods were applied to lame horse locomotion. The effect of acepromazine on the largest Lyapunov exponents of the lame horses were investigated. There was no statistically significant effect of acepromazine on the maximum value of Lyapunov exponents. The nonlinear dynamic methods can be used to analyze the gait in horses. Local stability of horse gait remains unchanged after the administration of acepromazine.
Highlights
Lameness causes significant economic loss to the equine industry (USDA, 2001)
With regard to the motion symmetry, no significant differences were found after treatment with acepromazine or at different time of evaluation (P 1⁄4 0.8302 for treatment, P 1⁄4 0.1472 for time)
For short-term largest Lyapunov exponents, no significant differences were found after treatment with acepromazine compared with no treatment (P 1⁄4 0.5718)
Summary
Lameness causes significant economic loss to the equine industry (USDA, 2001). When lameness is of moderate to severe intensity, subjective evaluation by a clinician experienced in lameness examination is sufficient for correctly identifying the lame limb and the results of diagnostic analgesia (Hinchcliff et al, 2013). When subjectively examining horses with subtle lameness, disparate diagnoses between equine clinicians were reported, indicating the need for objective examination in these cases (Keegan et al, 2010; McCracken et al, 2012). Tranquilization or sedation might be used to suppress erratic head movements and increase the reliability of the lameness examination (da Silva Azevedo et al, 2015). A kinematic study reported that even though sedation of horses with 0.01 mg/kg detomidine did not change their degree of lameness, their head height decreased significantly, whereas stride length, stride duration and stance duration increased significantly (Buchnner et al, 1999). A better understanding of how acepromazine affects the gait of horses is needed to determine if this treatment will interfere with the interpretation of a lameness examination performed using an inertial sensor system
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
