Influence of seating styles on head and pelvic vertical movement symmetry in horses ridden at trot.
Authors: Persson-Sjodin Emma, Hernlund Elin, Pfau Thilo, Haubro Andersen Pia, Rhodin Marie
Journal: PloS one
Summary
# Editorial Summary Using inertial sensors to track head and pelvic movement in 26 horses across 15 different ridden and unridden conditions, Persson-Sjodin and colleagues investigated how rider seating style (rising trot, sitting trot, and two-point) affects movement symmetry at trot, both in straight lines and on circles. Rising trot induced systematic changes in pelvic symmetry through a biomechanical mechanism: as the rider actively rises, downward momentum develops that counteracts the horse's push-off phase when the rider lands, effectively mimicking a push-off hindlimb lameness. On the circle, the asymmetries created by rising on the correct diagonal actually counteracted the natural asymmetries induced by circular motion, producing net symmetry—a finding that provides biomechanical explanation for the long-established equestrian tradition of rising on the correct diagonal. In horses with subtle pre-existing movement asymmetries, the effects of rising trot and circular movement could either attenuate or exacerbate baseline asymmetry depending on diagonal and direction, suggesting that rising trot may help clinicians distinguish between impact and push-off hindlimb lameness during subjective lameness evaluation. These findings have significant implications for both routine ridden lameness assessments and training practices, though the authors emphasize that further research in clinically lame horses is needed to validate this diagnostic potential.
Read the full abstract on PubMed
Practical Takeaways
- •Rising trot on the correct diagonal is biomechanically sound and can reduce apparent movement asymmetries on circles—this validates traditional equestrian practice with scientific explanation
- •During lameness evaluation, rising trot creates reproducible movement patterns that may help identify whether hindlimb lameness is a push-off or impact type—useful preliminary information before objective assessment
- •Riders and trainers should recognize that their seating style actively influences horse movement symmetry; sitting trot and two-point seat create different effects than rising trot
Key Findings
- •Rising trot systematically decreased pelvic rise during the rider's upward phase, creating downward momentum that mimics push-off lameness in the stance hindlimb
- •Rising trot on the correct diagonal counteracted circle-induced asymmetries, making horses more symmetrical on curved tracks and explaining the equestrian tradition of correct diagonal selection
- •In horses with pre-existing asymmetries, rising trot reduced baseline movement asymmetry depending on sitting diagonal and circle direction
- •Rising trot may help distinguish between push-off and impact hindlimb lameness patterns during subjective lameness assessment