title: Differences in rider movement pattern between different degrees of collection at the trot in high-level dressage horses ridden on a treadmill.
abstract: Collection is a central term in equine dressage, defined as a shortening of the horse's stride length with retained energy and hind limb activity. How collection is induced by the rider has yet not been investigated objectively. The aim of this study was therefore to compare the movement pattern of high-level dressage riders between free trot (loose reins), passage and a range of three speeds in collected trot. Both at higher speed in collected trot and in passage, the rider's pelvis became more caudally rotated and the rider's lumbar back became more flexed. However, in passage there was also a decrease in phase-shift between horse and rider movements, suggesting that the rider used the seat more actively. In free trot, the rider's pelvis was more cranially rotated, the lumbar back was more extended, the rider's body inclined more forwards, and the phase-shift between horse and rider was increased, compared to collected trot. The observed changes were partly explainable from changes in the horse's movement pattern. However, most differences in rider body position seemed unrelated to the horse's movements, but were in accordance with instructions in equestrian texts, suggesting that those changes were voluntarily adopted by the riders.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Physiology and Biochemistry, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, S-750 07 Uppsala, Sweden. Electronic address: anna.bystrom@slu.se.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Byström
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Physiology and Biochemistry, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, S-750 07 Uppsala, Sweden.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Roepstroff
authors.affiliation: Equine Department, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, CH-8057 Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Geser-von Peinen
authors.affiliation: Equine Department, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, CH-8057 Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Weishaupt
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Sciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, S-750 07 Uppsala, Sweden.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rhodin
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D005080:Exercise Test; D005260:Female; D005684:Gait; D006736:Horses / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008161:Lumbosacral Region / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D010388:Pelvis / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology*; D011187:Posture; D016474:Weight-Bearing
keywords: Collection; Equestrian dressage; Kinematics analysis