Equestrian
- Are you a fan of Olympic equestrian events? Learn about the biomechanics of equine speed and grace.
(Modern Horse Breeding - page 13)
Gait analysis coming into focus as performance predictor and diagnostic
tool
This
month, a multitude of cameras are focused on Barcelona, where they will capture
Olympic athletes in motion for sports fans worldwide. But there are also several
cameras whirring away at the equestrian events with a purpose quite different.
You will not see the images preserved on film by these cameras on your TV, and
though they'll be viewed and reviewed many times over, it will never be to the
grand strains of Olympic theme music. These video cameras are set up to record
specific parts of the performances of elite equine athletes for gait analysis
research by Hilary Clayton, BVMS, PhD, MRCVS, of the University of Saskatchewan,
and Nancy Deuel, PhD, of the University of Maryland. Both will be looking for
gait characteristics that identify superior performance.
Together with several scientists from Spain, Clayton is videotaping the most
difficult of dressage movements: the piaffe, a stylized trot in place,
and the passage, a very slow trot with exaggerated elevation of the
limbs. The Olympic contenders must execute two passage-piaffe-passage sequences
in the center of the arena and their performances at these movements account for
25% of their total marks. Three cameras set up along the edge of the arena will
capture a minimum of six steps of passage preceding and following the piaffe,
the piaffe itself and the transitions between them.
Clayton will also position three video cameras at the show jumping event in
order to record world-class horses going over a selected fence. These tapes will
include the final approach stride, take off, airborne phase, landing and the
first stride as the horse moves off to continue the course (the recovery
stride). In each case, the location of the cameras will allow three-dimensional
views to be constructed, since important landmarks on the horse's body (such as
centers of joint rotation) will always be visible by at least two of the three
cameras.
Meanwhile, Deuel will be building on the research she began at the 1988
Olympics in Seoul. This time, she'll be heading up the team to record and
analyze performances in the three-day event. Her participation at the last
Summer Olympics (and at the 1990 World Equestrian Games in Stockholm) offers a
unique opportunity to analyze some of the same horses four years apart. With her
studies, she hopes to help answer one of the prime questions in gait analysis
research: does a horse possess certain gait characteristics that are immutable
over time? If the answer is yes and if those characteristics that mark a horse
exceptionally talented for a chosen sport can be identified, then gait analysis
may emerge as a very useful selection tool when making purchasing decisions.
See also
| Discus | Biomechanical Analysis of Discus Throwing at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games |
| Equestrian | Are you a fan of Olympic equestrian events? Learn about the biomechanics of equine speed and grace. |
| Functional | Functional Capacity Evaluation |
| NASA | What is a Resistive Exercise Dynamometer? Read on, and learn how Ariel Dynamics participates in and contributes to America's Space Program. |
| Optimization | Optimization of Human Performance for All Ages |
| Principles | Principles of Gait Analysis |
