A longer stance is more stable for a standing horse

Abstract

What is the effect of posture on the stability of a standing horse? We address this with a 2D quasistatic model. The model horse has 3 rigid parts: a trunk, a massless fore-limb and a massless rear limb, and has hinges at the shoulder, hip, and hooves. The postural parameter{ell} g is the distance between the hooves. For a given{ell} g, statics finds an equilibrium configuration which, with no muscle stabilization, is unstable. To measure the neuro-muscular effort to maintain stability, we add springs at the shoulder and hip; the larger the springs needed to stabilize the model, the more the neuro-muscular effort needed for stabilization. We find that a canted-in posture (small{ell} g), observed in some pathological domestic horses, requires about twice the spring stiffness (representing twice the neuromuscular effort) as is needed for postures with vertical or slightly splayed-out (large{ell} g) legs.