Improving arena surfaces for performance and injury reduction

Take home messages

• It is possible to a certain extent to maintain performance while minimising risk of injury by tuning the force dampening and energy returning properties of the surface.
• Maintenance of the surface is as important as the construction.
• The most efficient way to minimise risk of injury is by education and supplying a tool to quantify functional properties objectively.

Background

The Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) initiated a research project in 2007 (‘Evaluation of training and competition surfaces in equestrian sport, and the consequences for improved welfare and orthopaedic health of horses that use them’, financed by FEI, World Horse Welfare and The Swedish Foundation for Equine Research). The aims were to ‘Identify and evaluate the properties of the commonly used surfaces for training and competition in equestrian sports’ and ‘Develop a method suitable for field use for evaluating track surface properties’. To achieve these aims we adjusted the ‘mechanical hoof’ previously constructed by Professor Michael Peterson (Maine, US) with which over 400 competition and training surfaces have been measured and defined 5 objectively measurable factors (surface firmness, cushioning, responsiveness, grip and uniformity) that can characterise surfaces.  […]