Instrumentation to Measure Equine Tail Pull Force

Department of Medicine and Epidemiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, Davis, CA, USA

ID: MDL2

Relevant Skills: mechanical design, software

Veterinarians and emergency first responders need the ability to move and lift horses that are recumbent for surgery or that are injured due to an accident. Given that these large animals generally weigh between 800 and 1800 pounds this can be a challenge. Ropes tied to tail hair are used routinely as an important aspect of maneuvering their heavy bodies.

While padded carts, pulley systems, slings and rescue glides have been designed to move their bodies, little work has been done to define the role and safety of pulling horses’ tails.

Horses’ tails are comprised of bone (end of the vertebrae) and long hair. When a properly applied rope is attached to their tail hair, it can be an effective way to support efficient movement of their bodies. If the rope is applied too high on the tail where the bone is, serious injury can result.

For this project, we are seeking instrumentation to measure and record pressure of tail pulls in various scenarios. Ideally the device would be small, light, durable not interfere with the attachment of the rope on the horse's tail record the tension and duration of time the tail was exposed to that tension store data internally or transmit it to a cell phone or computer

We have several life size and weighted equine mannequins that can be used as models to design and test instrumentation. For this project, we would like to conduct a pilot study measuring the tail force necessary to maneuver a horse and cause subluxation in an equine cadaver.

This instrumentation would be used in future studies in live horses to measure the forces used routinely to move horses and set a reference point for likely onset of injury.

Documentation of proper placement of ropes and safe forces used will give veterinarians and first responders much needed information on appropriate use of tail pulls and prevent injury while maneuvering down horses.

We anticipate this instrumentation will be used as training tool for veterinary students, surgical residents and emergency first responders to inform and improve their skills in efficiently and safely moving recumbent horses.