Forces and pressures beneath the saddle during mounting from the ground and from a raised mounting platform

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Abstract

The objective was to use an electronic pressure mat to measure and compare forces and pressures of the saddle on a horse’s back when riders mounted from the ground and with the aid of a mounting platform. Ten riders mounted a horse three times each from the ground and from a 35 cm high mounting platform in random order. Total force (summation of forces over all 256 sensors) was measured and compared at specific points on the force–time curve. Total force was usually highest as the rider’s right leg was swinging upwards and was correlated with rider mass. When normalized to rider mass, total force and peak pressure were significantly higher when mounting from the ground than from a raised platform (P < 0.05). The area of highest pressure was on the right side of the withers in 97% of mounting efforts, confirming the importance of the withers in stabilizing the saddle during mounting.

Introduction

Regardless of sporting discipline or level of training, horses being trained under saddle must be mounted each time they are ridden. In some sports, the rider is usually assisted by receiving a “leg up”, whereas in other sports the rider mounts using the stirrup, with or without the help of a raised mounting platform. Intuitively, it might be assumed that if the horse is habitually mounted from the same side, asymmetrical forces and pressures on the horse’s back may result in soreness or unequal muscular development as a consequence of the horse bracing against the unilateral force.

Pressure mapping technology, which has been used in clinical and research applications by both the medical and veterinary professions, can be applied to measure total force of the saddle on the horse’s back and localized pressure distribution. An electronic pressure mat consists of an array of sensors that are calibrated individually to record the force applied perpendicular to the surface of the sensor. Software sums the force over all sensors (total force) and displays the pressure distribution over the entire surface of the mat, allowing temporal and spatial distribution of high pressure areas to be defined. In ridden horses, previous publications have reported differences in pressure distribution and peak pressures between gaits (Jeffcott et al., 1999, Fruehwirth et al., 2004). A high correlation was found between total pressure under the saddle and mass of the rider (Jeffcott et al., 1999, De Cocq et al., 2005). The effect of rider mass increases with speed (Fruehwirth et al., 2004) as a consequence of inertial effects related to the suspension phase. An electronic pressure mat has also been used to assess saddle fit, with localized areas of high pressure being taken as an indication for poor saddle fitting (De Cocq et al., 2005, Harman, 1994, Harman, 1997, Harman, 1999, Jeffcott et al., 1999, Werner et al., 2002, Meschan et al., 2007).

Every time a horse is ridden, it must be mounted. Traditionally, horses are mounted from the left side. Riders may choose to mount from the ground or with the aid of a raised mounting platform. In mounting from the ground, the rider may step up using the stirrup, vault on without using the stirrup or be boosted up by an assistant (leg up). When mounting from a raised platform, the rider may step into the stirrup or, if the platform is high enough, throw the leg over the horse’s back without using the stirrup. It seems reasonable to speculate that the horse’s back may be subjected to large and asymmetrical forces during mounting with a stirrup, and the long-term effects may be more problematic if the rider always mounts from the same side. Although many horses show signs of resistance or discomfort when being mounted (Harman, 1999) forces and pressures on the horse’s back during mounting do not appear to have been investigated and the authors are not aware of any previous reports comparing different mounting techniques.

The purposes of this study were to measure and compare total force and pressure distribution beneath the saddle as riders mounted using the stirrup from the ground and from a raised mounting platform. The experimental hypothesis is that mass-normalized maximal total force and peak pressure on the horse’s back are higher when mounting from the ground than from a mounting platform.

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Materials and methods

The study was performed with approval of the All University Committee for Animal Use and Care and the University Committee on Research Involving Human Subjects at Michigan State University, and with full informed consent of the riders.

Results

The force and video data were used to divide the mounting effort into phases. Mounting began when the force on the saddle mat increased above baseline and ended when a steady force was recorded on completion of the mounting effort (Fig. 1, Fig. 2). When mounting from the ground, small peaks in the force curve occurred during each hop and the force did not return to baseline after hopping started. Instead, there was a progressive increase in total force beneath the saddle after each hop,

Discussion

The mounting procedure used in this study is taught through the Pony Club and other equestrian programs. Riders are discouraged from grasping the cantle of the saddle since this may, over a period of time, twist the tree or exert an exaggerated twisting force on the horse’s back (Harris, 1994). Even without pulling on the cantle, pressure on the horse’s back and, by inference, pressure on the saddle were shown to be highly asymmetrical and sufficient to cause stretching of the stirrup leather

Conclusions

It has been shown that total force and peak pressure during mounting increase with rider mass and that total forces and peak pressures on the horse’s back are significantly higher when mounting from the ground than when using a raised mounting platform. Localised areas of high pressure are present on the right side adjacent to the withers, which stabilises the saddle, and on the left side towards the lateral edge of the panel.

Acknowledgement

Red Shield Equestrian, LLC (California) and the McPhail Endowment provided financial support for the study.

References (9)

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