Introduction
Horse saddles are placed adjacent to the rib cage, affecting the animal’s muscles in the long run. Some saddles’ designs and shapes cause an unbalanced distribution of weight and pressure on the horse’s back, leading to harm. The matter causes chronic back pain that triggers limping and lameness, among other visible and unseen consequences. The present work proposes a study on saddle pressure’s impact on the horse’s wellbeing.
Study Area Justification, Research Question, and Objectives
Research in equine practices led to the introduction of saddles on the back of horses to protect the animal while offering comfort and stability to the rider. Bondi et al. (2020) note that many saddle designers emphasize the human, leading to significant harm and injuries to the horse. The saddle-horse edge is critical when investigating the load’s effects (Clayton and MacKechnie-Guire, 2022).
Numerous factors affect the pressure exerted on the horse by the pads and, thus, the animal’s welfare in the long run. The panel size, shape, fitness, and the ability to distribute pressure equally over the animal’s back at different postures and gaits are examples of the parameters influencing the amount of pressure applied on the back. The size of the load relative to the horse’s weight has a substantially more direct impact on the pet’s well-being. However, limited scholarly work on this issue exists, with most horse keepers and managers dwelling on the pads’ quality. The proposed research seeks to bridge the gap by investigating the effect of load stress on horse health.
Research Question
Is horse well-being manageable through a controlled ratio of saddle pressure (rider weight) to horse body weight?
Objectives
- To compute the amount and dispersal of pressures beneath the saddle among ten horses of varied body weights with riders of five different masses.
- To relate various saddle pressures to visible harms on horse skin and muscles.
- To relate saddle pressure to the horses’ movement.
- To investigate the role of saddle mats on saddle pressure management and health.
Problem Description
Growth in families’ income and acceptance of horse rearing among young people globally leads to a rise in the animal population. The desire to travel on non-motorized vessels, show class, and participate in horse races contribute substantially to the recorded changes in horse numbers, especially in the U.S. and Europe (Houpt and Wickens, 2019). However, many horse owners and users do not know how to manage these animals. This aspect exposes the pets to numerous issues, including back injuries and deaths. Atalaia et al. (2021) reiterate that horse wounds result from poor usage.
The scholars mainly describe racing and other entertainment activities involving domestic animals as some of the most dangerous undertakings affecting their health. A significant concern in the reported matter is the application of saddles and the impact of load pressure on horse wellbeing. Despite the many years of studies in equine performance, limited work exists on this subject, leading to the proposed topic.
Horses are expensive, and people rear them for specific purposes. It is necessary to keep the animals fit to perform their unique roles, as Rankins, McKeever, and Malinowski (2023) noted. Horses’ robust physical energy makes them fit for racing, transportation, and leisure utilization. Dyson and Thomson (2022) say that a horse keeper remains happy when the pet is healthy, powerful, and speedy. Injured horses cause racing accidents due to muscle problems (Gates and Lin, 2020).
Meredith, Ekman, and Brolin (2019) observe that most harms affecting equestrian creatures are preventable. The researchers propose the regulation of load capacity relative to horse capability. Ryan et al. (2020) observe that many accidents involving horses with ridders occur due to the mismatch between the load size and the animal’s body strength. Thus, scientific investigations targeting saddle pressure hold a potential answer to the many well-being issues affecting horses and their owners.
Horses depict visible and invisible signs of harm due to unbearable saddle pressure. An excessive load capacity exerts higher pressure on the back of the pet, even when the saddle distributes it effectively, causing injuries to the thoracic vertebrae. The injury often occurs long-term, reducing multiple horses’ performance and exposing their owners to costly management undertakings (Angoules et al., 2019). Haussler and Holt (2022) provide thoracolumbar pain as a detectable sign of excessive load pressure on racing animals.
The scientists link the condition to extreme strain, repetitive tension, overuse, and persistent poor posture under strenuous processes. Equally, focal inflammations under the saddle, ruffled hair, and dry acne underneath the mat immediately or long after a workout are signs of unbearable pressure on the horse’s back. Sores bordered by sweat and irregular hair wear indicate unfriendly saddle load. Such signs adversely affect the pet’s performance and demand financial expenditures as the owner subjects the animal to care.
Methods and Measurements
The proposed study involves several steps, including seeking consent from the Clinical Ethical Review Committee of the Animal Health Trust to use the animals. Moreover, the researcher will identify and initiate contracts with various horse owners willing to volunteer their pets for the study, with agreements on all ethical concerns polished. The animals will come from the XYZ Horse Farm due to the organization’s evident care and management of their horses and readiness to partner with researchers for the creatures’ benefit.
The ten horses for the investigations will be selected based on the nonexistence of forelimb and hindlimb lameness. The animals will be gaged in ‘walk,’ ‘trot,’ and ‘canter’ conditions, ridden by their regular riders, by specialists from the Imperial Academy of Veterinary Surgeons in Equestrian Orthopaedics. Qualifying horses will be worked on the exercise for forty-five minutes twice a day for a month during the study. Research horses will be identified depending on their body weight to establish a 400-600 kg category. The option will help design the targeted ratio of rider to horse weights in percentages for the study. Consequently, the anticipated proportions will be 10% (Light), 12% (Moderate), 15% (High), and 20% (Very high).
All the horses will have a standard saddle fit and equally experienced riders from the donating organization who can keep balance when riding, leaving the rider’s weight and size the only variable aspects. The horse will perform various exercises with various ridders, including walk, trot, and canter. Observations will be made on equine gait and behavior during the performance to determine struggle signs among the animals due to various saddle loads.
Equally, electronic saddle pressure amounts will be measured for the ten horses during the different regular exercises using the Pliance system. The riders will ride each horse randomly on the selected horse track. Pressure levels from the calibrated force mat (Pliance) will be combined according to the gait (canter, trot, and walk) and specific weight ratios, with mean pressures stated in kPa (kilo Pascals per area). Equally, the investigator will perform a back examination for all the horses after every exercise to identify visible and other sensible harm on the skin from the workout. Findings will be recorded in result tables for analysis of variance (ANOVA) among the groups’ mean pressure measurements using IBM’s SPSS (Version 23).
Method’s Validity
Several studies are similar to the proposed one, with the main difference being the investigation’s focus. The scholarly works inform most of the suggested tactics, including using force mats to quantify the pressure under the saddle. Dyson et al. (2020) use the method to investigate saddle fit, while Ladewig et al. (2022) apply it in studying the effect of different protective mats in reducing saddle pressure on horseback. Bukhari, McElligott, and Parkes (2021) use the calibrated force mat to inspect pressure distribution on various points of the horse during different gaits. Several of these projects follow the same procedure in identifying the horses for the study, thus forming a peer-reviewed collection of tactics to apply to the proposed work.
Likely Impact of the Study on Horse and Human Subjects
The proposed scientific inquiry will affect humans, horse managers, and horses. For instance, the work will depict the essence of ascertaining the proper rider-to-horse weight ratio to control pressure issues on the animals’ backs and suggesting that ratios of riders’ body weight to that of the horse exceeding a given percentage cause back harm and posture issues due to excessive saddle pressure will lead to possible policy changes.
Conclusion
The proposed study will join many others in proving the essence of mats under saddles to protect horses against harm during some technical gaits. This study promises to prompt reduced chronic back pains among horses due to the controlled ridder weight and saddle pressure relative to the animal’s body weight. The facet further has the potential to promote sustained horse performance in the long run, reducing accidents and costs on medication and nonproductive horses.
Reference List
Angoules, A.G. et al. (2019) ‘Horse–related spine and spinal cord injuries’, Clinical Science, 2(3) pp.1-7. Web.
Atalaia, T. et al. (2021) ‘Equine rehabilitation: a scoping review of the literature’, Animals, 11(6), p.1508. Web.
Bondi, A. et al. (2020) ‘Evaluating the suitability of an English saddle for a horse and rider combination’, Equine Veterinary Education, 32(1), pp.162-172. Web.
Bukhari, S.S., McElligott, A.G. and Parkes, R.S. (2021) ‘Quantifying the impact of mounted load carrying on equids: a review’, Animals, 11(5), pp.1333. Web.
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Dyson, S. and Thomson, K. (2022) ‘The recognition of pain and learned behavior in horses which buck’, Equine Veterinary Education, 34(5), pp.272-280. Web.
Dyson, S. et al. (2020) ‘The influence of rider: horse bodyweight ratio and rider-horse-saddle-fit on equine gait and behavior: a pilot study’, Equine Veterinary Education, 32(2), pp.527–534. Web.
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Ladewig, J. et al. (2022) ‘A review of The Ridden Horse pain Ethogram and its potential to improve ridden horse welfare’, Journal of Veterinary Behavior, 54(2), pp. 54-61. Web.
Meredith, L., Ekman, R. and Brolin, K. (2019) ‘Epidemiology of equestrian accidents: a literature review’, Internet Journal of Allied Health Sciences and Practice, 17(1), p.9. Web.
Rankins, E.M., McKeever, K.H. and Malinowski, K. (2023) ‘Equids in equine assisted services: a scoping review’, Journal of Equine Veterinary Science, 4(2), pp.104825. Web.
Ryan, K.D. et al. (2020) ‘Medicine in the sport of horse racing’, Current Sports Medicine reports, 19(9), pp.373-379. Web.