Objective Assessment of Gait Asymmetry in Polo Ponies

Aims: Polo ponies have demanding athletic careers and are likely to display a degree of movement asymmetry due to subclinical lameness. Due to training and management practices in polo, the prevalence of lameness may be underestimated. Subjective assessment of lameness has been proven to be unreliable and a growing body of evidence supports the use of trunk mounted inertial sensors as a practical field method of objective gait analysis. We set out to test the hypothesis that all polo ponies display some degree of movement asymmetry. It is likely that some of these asymmetries will be severe enough to be classified as lameness. In horses with asymmetry we hypothesise that left forelimb lameness will predominate. 

Methods: Forty polo ponies were equipped with trunk mounted inertial sensors and trotted along a hard, straight surface. Data were analysed according to published protocols and standard objective symmetry indices were derived and compared with published thresholds. [...]