Goals:

Determine why we change from a walk to a run (or in horses, a walk to a trot)

• Measure across the transition speed- trot slower than preferred, and walk faster
• Look for variables that improve with gait change, but are sensible by the body
• Consider ground reaction forces, leg stiffness

Role:

• Study design, animal training
• Motion capture video at 250Hz with joint markers and force data collection
• Post processing digitization of video into joint coordinates
• Calculation of leg length, leg stiffness in MatLab

Results:

One potential trigger found between walking and trotting

• Peak ground reaction force in the hind limb levels with speed at trotting
• However, change to trot happens before reaching peak force, sensibility questionable
• Still no identified trigger than is beneficial, sensible, and at the right speed

Data presented at 2 conferences and co-author paper in Journal of Experimental Zoology