On the classification of equine force traces

Evidence indicating that comparison of a particular animal trace with a population average is an insufficient test of the health of a limb is presented. The methodology involves representing each of three recorded force components (vertical, lateral, and transverse) as a Fourier-Legendre series; the coefficients in the series represent the trace. A history for the horse is built by accumulating the coefficients (along with pertinent experimental data such as date, sex, weight, height, and in the case of race horses the date of last race) over a long duration. Then, on each subsequent recording, the trace is first compared with the animal's history to identify the occurrence of injury or pathology. If the limb is found to be normal, the trace is added to the history. Otherwise, it is recommended that the animal be further examined by a veterinarian. Preliminary results indicate that an animal trace needs to be compared with a history of traces for the same animal to identify alterations in the locomotive behavior of the limb.