Forces and pressures beneath the saddle during mounting from the ground and from a raised mounting platform
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.
Section snippets
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.
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2021, Journal of Equine Veterinary ScienceCitation Excerpt :The riding simulator is rigid and cannot redirect any of the vertical force coming from the movement of the rider. Right hand side force measurement increase could be caused by a direct vertical force on the right hand side of the saddle or by a shear force caused by saddle roll to the left [19,32] such as that seen on mounting [50], thus this pattern is most likely caused by the act of mounting the simulator from the left hand side at the beginning of the trial. The locomotion [1] and asymmetries [19] of the live horse would likely reverse this saddle roll, explaining why the same consistent patterns are not seen in similar studies on live horses.
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2019, Journal of Equine Veterinary ScienceCitation Excerpt :Riders then mounted into the saddle from a raised platform while someone was holding the stirrup on the opposite side. Results of a previous study showed that mounting from the ground or from a raised platform using the left stirrup led to a slip of the saddle toward the mounting side and to a consistent pressure profile with increased pressure on the left [22]. This pressure pattern persisted even after the rider tried to adjust the position of the saddle by stepping heavily into the right stirrup.
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2017, Applied Animal Behaviour ScienceCitation Excerpt :Whilst riders aspire to achieve an upright riding position (Boden et al., 2013), few manage this meaning that the total pressure applied to the horses back is not captured and that data produced are likely to be an under-estimate. Despite these limitations pressure pads have been used successfully in the assessment and monitoring of saddle fit (Murray et al., 2013) and associated equitation related practice, for example Geutjens et al. (2008) demonstrated that mounting from the ground reults in significantly more pressure applied to the horses back compared to mounting from a low block (35 cm high) especially in the region of the horse’s withers. Ramseier et al. (2013) confirmed that icelandic horses experience greater weight on their backs due being ridden more caudally particually when ridden in icelandic and english saddles, and also that use of the treeless saddle cushion also resulted in increased pressure, but at the withers.
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2015, Journal of Veterinary BehaviorCitation Excerpt :Several authors have garnered valid information for horse equipment design and fit (Baltacis et al., 2006; Byström et al., 2010; Fruehwirth et al., 2004; Hofmann et al., 2006; Kotschwar et al., 2010; Latif et al., 2010; Meschan et al., 2007; Monkemoller et al., 2005; Nyikos et al., 2005; von Peinen et al., 2010; Werner et al., 2002; Winkelmayr et al., 2006). More recently, attempts have been made to use this technology to measure changes in pressure on the horse's back from the rider's seat and legs (Belock et al., 2012; Byström et al., 2009, 2010; Clayton et al., 2013; de Cocq et al., 2008, 2009, 2010a, 2010b, Geutjens et al., 2008; Nevison et al., 2011; Nevison and Timmis, 2013; Peham et al., 2004, 2008; von Peinen et al., 2009). There are currently 2 types of pressure sensor used in saddle pressure pads.