The Cutting Edge Veterinary Podcast

STUDENT(S): Kylee Dunfield, Grace-Anne Weisgerber
FACULTY MENTOR(S): Dr. Mike Scott

ABSTRACT

Objective equine gait analysis has long been a topic of interest in veterinary medicine and using technology to better understand motion is a widely investigated area in research. In recent years, the desire to use quickly developing technology to objectively assess equine locomotion in a clinically relevant way has continued to increase among clients and veterinarians. Currently, kinematics is the predominant form of data collection in clinical objective gait analysis. The use of kinetics, however, would allow for the measurement of forces that directly cause motion, rather than the indirect measurement of motion that kinematics captures. So far, the application of kinetic analysis to draw meaningful conclusions has been mainly used in research laboratory settings and has not yet been widely applied by clinicians in practice. With further advancements and clinician training, kinetic data has the potential to produce relevant information that could be used for gait analysis, diagnosing lameness, and assessing treatment progression. This would open many new doors in the area of objective gait analysis. Future developments include the dynamometric horseshoe which could be an accessible and accurate diagnostic tool.

Release date:

28 September 2024