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  Discussion on Locomotion activity in foals
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DrO

Posted on Thursday, Sep 14, 2006 - 7:52 pm:

This work fits right in with our recent emphasis on examining development during growth and training. Some of its findings run counter to what I would thought I had observed: that foals are more active their second month of life compared with the first. There is a period of increased activity during the first month of life which may well be an important factor in the adaptation of the foals muscoskeletal system, note the previous discussion on cartilage development in this discussion list. From a management standpoint it is important to note that foals out at pasture 24/7 that first month have more accumulated activity than those stalled part of the day and may have developmental advantages that last them the rest of their life.
DrO

Am J Vet Res. 2006 Jul;67(7):1212-7.
Quantification of spontaneous locomotion activity in foals kept in pastures under various management conditions.

Kurvers CM, van Weeren PR, Rogers CW, van Dierendonck MC.
Department of Equine Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, The Netherlands.

OBJECTIVE: To describe spo ntaneous locomotion activity of foals kept under various management conditions and assess the suitability of global positioning system (GPS) technology for recording foal activity. Animals-59 foals.

PROCEDURES: During the foals' first 4 months of life, 921 observation periods (15 minutes each) were collected and analyzed for locomotion activities. The GPS system was evaluated by simultaneously carrying out field observations with a handheld computer. RESULTS: Foals spent 0.5% of total observed time cantering, 0.2% trotting, 10.7% walking, 32.0% grazing, 34.8% standing, and 21.6% lying down. Total observed daytime workload (velocity x distance) in the first month was approximately twice that in the following months. Locomotion activity decreased with increasing age. Colts had more activity than fillies in certain periods, and foals that were stabled for some portion of the day had compensatory locomotion activity, which was probably insufficient to reach the level of foals kept continually outside. The GPS recordings and handheld-computer observations were strongly correlated for canter, trot, and walk and moderately correlated for standing and lying. Correlation for grazing was low.

CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Results indicated that domestically managed foals, when kept 24 h/d at pasture, will exercise at a level comparable with feral foals. High workload during the first month of life might be important for conditioning the musculoskeletal system. The GPS technique accurately quantified canter, trot, and walk activities; less accurately indexed resting; and was unsuitable for grazing because of the wide array of velocities used while foraging.
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