Present possibilities of objectified electronic measurement of equine locomotive potential in the Czech Republic

An electronic device has been developed which helps to substantially object ify the so-far manual method of measuring the quantitative element of locom otion in a horse until now used in the Czech Republic. The device can be us ed with all horse breeds. It operates on the principle of a special sensor, fixed to the sole part of a hoof. When it touches the ground, it transmits a numerical signal. The signal reaches a portable computer via a repeater station and it is processed by software there and evaluated. Reading is mad e on a sandy or grassy testing track exactly defined by electronic gates. I t is possible to change the length of the track as needed. Special software has also been developed for the evaluation of horses tested, ranking them according to a ten-credit scale expressing the locomotive potential of the observed equine gait as compared with a set standard. The results are docum ented in the illustrative graphs enclosed. The device makes it possible to observe the tested gait of a horse simultaneously on all the four limbs. Be sides the usual parameters of a given gait, it is also possible to observe the regularity or irregularity of the basic gaits, such as "amble", and the like. For a routine use, more large-scale testing is made in dependence on breeds, with the aim to bring standards up-to-date and to improve criteria for effective selection.