How realistic is a racehorse simulator?

Race jockey training is demanding and technical. Increased horse care costs and demands on time have led to greater availability and use of racehorse simulators during training. Little is known about the accuracy of the simulated movement and therefore how effective they are for developing the desired technique. We quantified and compared sacral rotation and displacement vectors for a racehorse simulator and a real galloping horse. A single inertial measurement unit was placed on the sacrum of six horses (horse) during a training gallop along an all-weather seven furlong gallop and on the highest speed setting 'four' on the simulator. Displacements were calculated in all three axes before being cut into cycles and analysed along with roll and pitch. Displacement and rotation amplitudes were extracted and compared for the horse and simulator. Horse sacral movement parameters were more varied than those recorded on the simulator. The real horse exhibited greater dorso-ventral, medio-lateral and roll amplitude but smaller cranio-caudal displacement amplitude and no difference in pitch amplitude. Displacement trajectory of the simulator when viewed laterally from the left side, was anticlockwise, the opposite direction to that of the real horse leaving the regular use of a simulator during jockey training under question. Use of the racehorse simulator is beneficial to develop specific fitness and to enable physical manipulation into the optimal position. Care must be taken to avoid any detrimental effects of training with the opposite movement trajectory to that experienced during a race. The programming of the simulators may benefit from adaptations to maximise their benefits.

The kinematics and kinetics of riding a racehorse: A quantitative comparison of a training simulator and real horses.

Movement of a racehorse simulator differs to that of a real horse, but the effects of these differences on jockey technique have not been evaluated. We quantified and compared the kinematics and kinetics of jockeys during gallop riding on a simulator and real horses. Inertial measurement units were attached mid-shaft to the long bones of six jockeys and the sacrum of the horse or simulator. Instrumented stirrups were used to measure force. Data were collected during galloping on a synthetic gallop or while riding a racehorse simulator. Jockey kinematics varied more on a real horse compared to the simulator. Greater than double the peak stirrup force was recorded during gallop on real horses compared to the simulator. On the simulator stirrup forces were symmetrical, whereas on a real horse peak forces were higher on the opposite side to the lead limb. Asymmetric forces and lateral movement of the horse and jockey occurs away from the side of the lead leg, likely a result of horse trunk roll. Jockeys maintained a more upright trunk position on a real horse compared to simulator, with no change in pitch. The feet move in phase with the horse and simulator exhibiting similar magnitude displacements in all directions. In contrast the pelvis was in phase with the horse and simulator in the dorso-ventral and medio-lateral axes while a phase shift of 180° was seen in the cranio-caudal direction indicating an inverted pendulum action of the jockey.