Assessing Forces Exerted on Horses Using Varying Riding Crops.

Area of Science:

• Equine biomechanics
• Animal welfare science
• Sports engineering

Background:

• Riding crops are used in horse racing, with recent designs featuring softer, energy-absorbing materials for ethical considerations.
• Previous assumptions suggested softer materials would reduce impact forces on horses.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantify and compare the forces exerted by three different riding crops on a flat target.
• To determine which riding crop design is least likely to cause injury to equine skin.

Main Methods:

• Three distinct riding crops were tested.
• Forces were measured using a flat target plate.
• Crop core bending levels were standardized for comparison.

Main Results:

• Counterintuitively, riding crops with softer poppers exerted greater forces than traditional leather-tipped crops.
• The combination of crop core and popper influences the resulting force.
• The crop core material demonstrated a more significant impact on force than the popper material.

Conclusions:

• The design of the crop core plays a more critical role in impact force than the popper material.
• Softer materials do not automatically guarantee reduced impact forces in riding crops.
• Further research into crop core design is needed to ensure equine welfare.