Monitoring Harness Trotters in Diverse Cases Using an Online Platform to Collect Synchronised Physiology and Locomotion Data

Abstract

Monitoring horses during training sessions is important to ensure welfare. In most cases, monitoring is limited to the physiological response; however, the locomotory response also provides relevant and complementary information. In this work, we show that the newly developed online platform Varenne, which enables the synchronised collection of physiological and locomotion data, can be used for different circumstances in Standardbred trotters, and we discuss its limitations. The use of such training tools allows not only for performance improvement, health monitoring, and veterinary follow-ups, but also for extensive (research) data collection and thus new knowledge creation. The use of these training tools requires training and expert knowledge in certain domains, possibly limiting their everyday use. Ultimately, the objective quantification of equine physiology and locomotor parameters will enhance the assessment and assurance of welfare in horses.