Comparison of speed-dependent time, force and spatial parameters between Franches-Montagnes and European Warmblood horses walking and trotting on a treadmill

Speed alterations affect many gait analysis parameters. How horses adapt to speed is relevant in many equestrian disciplines and may differ between breeds. This study described changes in gait parameters in 38 Warmblood (WB) and 24 Franches-Montagnes (FM) horses subjected to an incremental speed test at walk (1.35-2.05 m/s) and trot (3.25-5.5 m/s). Time, force and spatial parameters of each limb were measured with an instrumented treadmill and analysed with regression analysis using speed as the independent variable. With higher speeds, stride rate, length, over-tracking distance and vertical ground reaction forces increased while the impulses decreased. The parameters followed the same linear or polynomial regression curves independent of breed, while the slope (linear) or incurvation (polynomial) often differed significantly between breeds. Some differences between the breeds were associated with height and speed (e.g. stride length at walk), and would disappear when scaling the data. The main differences between the breeds seem to stem from the movement of the hind limbs, with the FM obtaining long over-tracking distances despite the shorter height at withers. Some parameters relevant to gait quality could be improved in the FM to resemble WB movement by strict selection using objective measurements systems.