EQUINE gait analysis is a field which has grown considerably in recent years, whether as a tool for use when looking at the performance horse, investigating lameness or as a method for research. Since Edweard Muybridge set up a series of cameras in the 1880’s capturing the exact footfalls of a racehorse there has been an increased interest in looking at equine movement.

Muybridge’s images showed that what we believed about equine movement was incorrect and that the horse performed a complex pattern of footfalls in each gait which would have at times been too fast for the human eye to catch in enough detail. Research has found a range of factors which can affect equine gait including the addition of a rider, rider skill, training with certain aids/equipment, conformation and lameness to name but a few.