Perceived sidedness and correlation to vertical movement asymmetries in young warmblood horses.
Authors: Leclercq Anna, Lundblad Johan, Persson-Sjodin Emma, Ask Katrina, Zetterberg Ebba, Hernlund Elin, Haubro Andersen Pia, Rhodin Marie
Journal: PloS one
Summary
# Editorial Summary: Perceived Sidedness and Vertical Movement Asymmetries in Young Warmbloods Between 60–70% of young warmblood horses perceived as sound by their owners demonstrate vertical asymmetries in head and pelvis movement that exceed clinical thresholds, yet the underlying causes remain poorly understood. Rhodin and colleagues conducted repeated gait analysis using inertial measurement units across three separate visits in 65 clinically sound horses, whilst also collecting rider questionnaires on perceived laterality and performing forelimb protraction preference tests (n=40) to assess motor laterality. Only weak statistically significant correlations emerged: rider-perceived hindlimb weakness correlated modestly with increased pelvic displacement minima (p=0.023), and absolute laterality index showed a weak relationship with pelvic displacement maxima (p=0.049), but directional analysis revealed no meaningful associations between motor laterality and any asymmetry parameters. These findings suggest that the high prevalence of vertical asymmetries in young warmbloods is unlikely to be simply explained by intrinsic motor laterality preferences, indicating that other factors—such as training history, saddle fit, rider technique, or developing musculoskeletal asymmetries—warrant investigation. For practitioners, this implies that rider perception of one-sidedness should not be dismissed, but detecting and addressing the true biomechanical drivers of asymmetry will require objective assessment rather than relying solely on motor laterality testing.
Read the full abstract on PubMed
Practical Takeaways
- •Vertical movement asymmetries are extremely common in young warmblood riding horses even when perceived as sound by owners—this may represent normal variation rather than pathology
- •Rider perception of 'sidedness' or weakness does not reliably correlate with objective gait asymmetries, suggesting subjective assessment alone is insufficient for identifying movement problems
- •The origin of these asymmetries remains unknown; further investigation is needed before assuming asymmetry indicates injury, training problems, or requiring intervention
Key Findings
- •60-70% of young warmblood horses perceived as sound exhibited vertical asymmetries exceeding clinical thresholds across three visits
- •Only 22% of horses showed a side preference in forelimb protraction testing
- •Weak statistically significant correlation found between perceived hindlimb weakness and higher pelvis minimum displacement values (p=0.023)
- •No convincing evidence of associations between vertical asymmetries and motor laterality was demonstrated