Sport surfaces can be a risk factor for injury in human and equine athletes. It was recently demonstrated that more severe lesions occurred in young trotters after 4 months of training on a hard track, compared to a soft one (Crevier-Denoix et al., 2016). Biomechanical measurements performed on both tracks revealed that maximal forces and loading rates, as well as vertical deceleration peak at impact (impact shock), were significantly larger on the horses exercising on the hard track. Although the respective influence of these biomechanical variables on injury occurrence is not established yet, it is likely that repetitive high impact shocks contribute to risk for subchondral bone damage and even fracture in the distal limb segments, as well as for superficial digital flexor tendon injury, although maximal loading and loading rates are probably major risk factors for severe limb injuries. Direct biomechanical measurements on subjects under race or sport conditions are difficult and expensive. Furthermore inter-individual variability can be large. In this context, standardized mechanical testing devices are used on human sport surfaces. Among them, the 2.25 kg Clegg Impact Soil Tester (CIST, SD Instrumentation) has been also recommended for evaluating equestrian surfaces. Its principle is based on the dropping of a 2.25 kg mass (hammer), guided in a tube. An accelerometer is mounted on the top of the hammer; drop height is 45 cm. Three to 5 successive drops on a given site are generally recommended. The accelerometric measurement is expressed in gravities [g]. The mass involved and the velocity of impact , i.e. about 3 m/s) in the CIST are close, respectively, to the effective mass and vertical velocity of the equine fore hoof at impact under training conditions (Munoz-Nates et al., 2015; Crevier-Denoix et al., 2012). Therefore the objectives of the present study were to test the correlations between CIST measurements and vertical deceleration peak measured on horses` hooves at impact on different surfaces and exercise conditions, in order to assess the interest of CIST for assessing equestrian surfaces.
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