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Ponies used in equine-assisted therapy (EAT) (hippotherapy) often carry imbalanced riders, which is a cause for concern as regards the health of the ponies. A low degree of lameness or an abnormal gait is not always detectable by a veterinarian, subjectively, but this is enabled by using a motion analysis equipment. The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of inertial sensor technology utilization to analyze ponies’ kinematic motion at walking gait. Ten ponies were instrumented with the inertial sensors and made to walk 20 m in two trials (departure and return) for the forelimb data set (n=10), which was then repeated in the second round for the hindlimb (n=3). The ponies were assigned three interventions: walking with no rider, walking with a rider with typical development (normal rider), and walking with a rider with physical disability (disabled rider). The movement speed, stride length, and stride duration were measured by a video camera. The limb range of motion and the angular velocity were detected by inertial sensors. The results showed that there were no significant differences in the kinematic motion of the forelimb at walking gait for all interventions and no significant differences between the left and the right forelimbs except in the case of the anterior phase of the angular velocity of the arm when walking with a disabled rider (P<0.05). The hindlimb data set was not statistically compared due to insufficient “n” number. In conclusion, the inertial sensor technology is feasible to use on pony kinematic motion, especially when the sensor is attached to the forelimb. It seems that the ponies could modify the natural kinematic motion when walking with a load on them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cartilage erosion in degenerative joint diseases leads to lameness in affected horses. It has been reported that andrographolide from Andrographis paniculata inhibited cartilage matrix-degrading enzymes. This study aimed to explore whether this compound protects equine cartilage degradation in the explant culture model and to determine its effect on matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) expression, a matrix-degrading enzyme, in equine chondrocyte culture. Equine articular cartilage explant culture was induced by 25 ng/mL interleukin-1β, a key inducer of cartilage degeneration, in cultures with or without andrographolide ranging from 10 to 50 μM. After 3-21 days, they were analyzed for the markers of cartilage degradation. It was found that interleukin-1β increased the release of sulfated glycosaminoglycans and hyaluronan from the explants into the culture media consistently with the decrease in uronic acid and collagen content in the cartilage explants. These catabolic effects were inhibited when cotreated with interleukin-1β and andrographolide. In primary equine chondrocytes, andrographolide suppressed interleukin-1β-induced MMP-2 mRNA expression and MMP-2 activity in the culture medium. These results confirmed the in vitro potent chondroprotective activities of this compound which were performed in cartilage explants and on a cellular level. These may indicate the application of andrographolide for therapeutic use in equine degenerative joint diseases.