Accelerometers dataset for Criollo horses performing perfromance manouevres

Wearable inertial measurement units (IMUs) offer unprecedented opportunities for field‑based quantification of complex equine manoeuvres. In this study, we applied fetlock‑mounted Pegasus accelerometers (±16 g, 100 Hz) and Pegasus Poseidon® processing to five adult Criollo breed horses performing three linear gaits (walk, trot, canter) and two Freio de Ouro–specific reining manoeuvres (esbarrada, volta sobre patas). Raw acceleration data were band‑pass filtered (0.5–30 Hz) and hoof‑on/off events detected with < 10 ms error. From 38 valid stride cycles, we derived stride length, duration, protraction range, medio‑lateral displacement and symmetry index. Principal component analysis (PCA) retained two components explaining 71% of variance, separating observations by symmetry (PC1) and lateral displacement versus protraction amplitude (PC2). K‑means clustering (k = 3) delineated high‑symmetry, low‑displacement gaits; intermediate patterns; and asymmetric, high‑load manoeuvres. Esbarradas exhibited peak hindlimb decelerations of ~37.9 m/s² (∼3.9 g), generating transient loads up to 30 kN, whereas spins produced sustained mediolateral acceleration cycles and extended forelimb suspension. A strong positive correlation (r = 0.90) between trot symmetry and manoeuvre balance suggests baseline gait assessments can predict performance in asymmetric tasks. These findings validate fetlock‑mounted accelerometry for objective monitoring of discipline‑specific equine movements and hold promise for performance optimisation, injury risk mitigation, and welfare enhancement in Criollo Freio de Ouro and reining-like competitions.