Author and graduation date: Lauren Marie LUHMANN, May, 1998

Committee members: RogerW. Simmons (Chair), Patricia Patterson, Paul T. Kolen

Thesis title: Evaluation of Shock Attention in the Forelimb of Horses Wearing Boots and Wraps

The purpose of this study was to investigate, using accelerometers, the shock attenuation in the forelimbs of horses wearing boots and wraps at the trot and gallop. It has been shown that the combination of rapid impulsive loading and high frequency oscillatory movement occurring at impact contributes to injuries such as degenerative joint disease and microfractures. Supportive boots have been developed to reduce hyperextension in the metacarpophalangeal joint and provide shock absorption, but to date, have not been evaluated under impact loading conditions. Five horses completed testing on a high-speed treadmill at the trot (3.5 meters per second) and gallop (6.0 meters per second). Each horse was tested under four leg support conditions: control, wearing neoprene-based, nitrile-lined boots (Boot 1), wearing neoprene-based, nitrile-lined boots with tendon rolls (Boot 2), and wearing polo wraps. Accelerometers were mounted on the hoof and on the third metacarpus above the leg support. The accelerometers were hard-wired to a data acquisition system, and the signals were sampled at 2000 Hertz. Two dependent variables were analyzed at both the hoof and third metacarpus: peak axial deceleration was measured in g's, and asymptotic frequency, above which contributions to total power in the accelerometer signal were negligible, was measured in Hertz. Reliability tests showed no significant differences between strides or leg support conditions for any variable at the hoof. Therefore, differences between leg support conditions were evaluated at the third metacarpus for each variable at the trot and gallop. Variables at the trot were evaluated using one-way repeated measures analysis of variance tests. Because of the asymmetry of the gallop, data from horses that preferred the left leading leg were evaluated separately from data from those that preferred the right leading leg. Gallop data were evaluated using 4 x 2 (leg support by stride) completely-within, repeated measures analysis of variance tests. Results for all variables at all gaits were non-significant. Therefore, results did not indicate that use of boots or wraps provide significant shock attenuation compared to the control condition. Because of the damaging effects of vibrations due to impact, the effects of boots and wraps on the incidence of traumatic and chronic injury should be investigated with a larger number of horses.

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