Thermographic assessment of saddles used in Mangalarga Marchador horses

ABSTRACT Poor saddle-fitting is one of the main causes of back pain in horses. Mangalarga Marchador is a popular breed in Brazil, being used mainly for pleasure riding and sports. This study aimed to thermographically assess saddles used in horses of this breed. Thermographic images were obtained from 18 saddles of animals from different categories during a Mangalarga Marchador National Exposition. The evaluation was based on three parameters: contact area symmetry, dorsal midline interaction and total skin contact area (25%, 50%, 75% or 100%). Contact area asymmetry was observed in 83.3% of saddles. Dorsal midline interaction was observed with the same frequency. Only 22.2% of saddles assessed in the present study had panels with contact areas greater than 50%. Based on the results of this essay it can be concluded that thermography is a useful tool for the evaluation of saddle contact area with the back of horses and that there is a high frequency of fitting unconformities in saddles used in Mangalarga Marchador horses.

摘要：马鞍适配不良是引发马背部疼痛的主要诱因之一。曼加尔加马尔查多马（Mangalarga Marchador）是巴西广受欢迎的马品种，主要用于休闲骑乘与马术运动。本研究旨在通过热成像技术对该品种马所使用的马鞍开展评估。本次研究在曼加尔加马尔查多马全国展期间，从不同组别马匹使用的18副马鞍中采集了热成像图像。评估基于三项参数进行：接触区域对称性、背中线接触状况，以及总皮肤接触面积（25%、50%、75%或100%）。83.3%的马鞍存在接触区域不对称问题，同样有83.3%的马鞍存在背中线接触异常情况。本研究评估的马鞍中，仅有22.2%的鞍垫接触面积大于50%。基于本研究结果可得出结论：热成像技术可作为评估马鞍与马背部接触面积的有效工具，且曼加尔加马尔查多马所使用的马鞍普遍存在适配不合格的问题。