title: Evaluation of the Tekscan F-SCAN system for measurement of the kicking force in horses.
abstract: The incidence of fractures after a kick, coupled with marked soft tissue trauma at the site of injury, suggests that the force of a kick from the hind limb of a horse is enormous. The goal of this study was to measure this force and to investigate whether the Tekscan F-SCAN in-shoe pressure measuring system is suitable for quantification of the impact strength of a kick from a horse. The system was tested in 6 horses that had undergone clinical examination and gait analysis. The sensor-shoe combination was attached to each hind foot and the horse was stimulated to kick against a wall. The F-SCAN system measured the maximum vertical and horizontal force (N), the main contact area (cm2) of the sole with the floor (stance phase limb) or wall (kicking limb) and the duration (sec) that the sole was in contact with the floor or wall. In addition, each kicking event was recorded with a video camera for subjective evaluation. The mean kicking force measured was lower than that recorded in horses trotting on a treadmill, where the forces exerted on one limb were similar to the horse's body weight. The results of this study indicate that the Tekscan F-SCAN system is not ideally suited to measure the force of a kick of a horse in vivo.
authors.affiliation: Equine Department, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fürst
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgical and Radiological Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, USA.
authors.forename: L D
authors.initials: LD
authors.lastname: Galuppo
authors.affiliation: Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, USA.
authors.forename: C E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Judy
authors.affiliation: Equine Department, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Auer
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgical and Radiological Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, USA.
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Snyder
mesh_terms: D000822:Animal Husbandry / Q000295:instrumentation*; D000818:Animals; D001835:Body Weight; D005260:Female; D006614:Hindlimb / Q000502:physiology*; D006736:Horses; D008297:Male; D055585:Physical Phenomena; D014741:Video Recording
keywords: Hufschlag; Pferd; Pferdesportverletzung; Schlagkraft; Tekscan; Tekscan,
  Sensor; force of a kick; horse; kick; sensor,
  equestrian injury