Dr. Hilary Clayton, a leading expert in equine biomechanics, presented key insights from her career at the 2025 AAEP Convention, emphasizing the critical role of locomotion and ground reaction forces (GRFs) in horse movement. She explained that locomotion relies on three-dimensional GRFs—vertical, longitudinal, and transverse—that interact with the horse’s center of mass (CoM) to maintain balance and enable athletic performance. Clayton highlighted how dynamic balance is managed through continuous adjustments in GRFs, which can be tracked using stabilography, a technique useful for detecting neurologic diseases and subtle lameness.
Clayton also discussed the biomechanical effects of GRFs on the horse’s posture and movement, such as pitching motions that influence whether a horse moves uphill or downhill. She is currently researching how dressage horses control limb compliance to achieve highly collected movements like the piaffe, aiming to improve training methods. Her work underscores the importance of understanding biomechanics for veterinarians in diagnosing gait abnormalities and designing effective rehabilitation programs.
