Recently a study was done investigating the effects of a kinesiology taping application to the abdominal muscles on locomotor parameters before and after lungeing exercise in horses. They discovered that horses wearing special kinesiology tape on their abdominal muscles appear to have better forward propulsion at the trot and possibly better core engagement.
Background:
Kinesiology taping (KT) has been used on human subjects for many years. More recently, it’s has been applied to sport horses. What they’ve discovered is that kinesiology tape might be even more effective on horses than on people.
Horses are very sensitive at the cutaneous level. Their skin is much richer in receptors than ours is, and they have a well developed ‘skin’ muscle (the cutaneous trunci muscle, CTM) that reaches from the sides of the abdomen up to the ‘skin’ muscle of the neck, with (connective tissue) continuity down to both the forelimbs and hind limbs.
Method:
During this study 10 adult dressage horses were tested when wearing kinesiology tape applied in a way that targeted two of the abdominal muscles involved in core stability and movement: the obliquus externus abdominis (OEA) and the rectus abdominis (RA).
10-centimeter (4-inch)-wide bands were placed across the RA muscles and 6-centimeter (2.3-inch) bands in an X-shape across the OEA muscles. During the control phase the horses wore the tape without tension. For the test phase they added stretch to the tape, applying 25% tension across the RA muscles, which seems like a normal application to me, and what they call 100% tension across the OEA muscles, which seems like a lot. The hypothesis was that this application would facilitate improved muscle function of the abdominal muscles.
A triaxial accelerometric device was placed along the trunk of the horse to measure and record movements in three dimensions: side to side (mediolateral), up and down (dorsoventral), and front to back (longitudinal). It’s a device that is commonly used in biomechanical studies to quantify movement patterns and analyze the dynamics of motion in various contexts, such as human and animal locomotion, sports performance, and medical research. In this case they used an Equimetrix system®.
Measurements were taken 30 minutes after each KT tape application, first during walk and trot in-hand on a straight sand track, and then again after a 16-minute lunging session.
Locomotor parameters were calculated, including stride frequency, regularity and symmetry, dorsoventral displacement and dorsoventral, mediolateral and longitudinal activities.
Results:
During trotting, the horse exhibited significantly higher longitudinal activity when the tensioned application (KT) was used compared to the control. Specifically, the horse’s forward propulsion increased by 28% while wearing stretched KT before longing and by 16% after longing, compared to the control condition.
The horses also took fewer trot strides when the tape was stretched, suggesting they were lengthening their strides.
Conclusions:
It’s thought that the tape induced increased contraction in the abdominal muscles during the stance phase, which reduced thoracolumbar extension and increased lumbosacral flexion. It may also have stimulated increased activity of cutaneous trunci muscle (CTM), which also lies partially under the tape and interacts with it. This resulted in improved longitudinal activity, or in other words, a rounder back with increased abdominal engagement.
The results of this experiment suggest that elasticized kinesiology tape, placed on the skin can be used to stimulate underlying muscles to contract, in this case the abdominals, leading to more longitudinal activity and longer strides, at least in-hand at trot.
Thoughts:
This technique might be helpful for horses recovering from back pain or injury. We know that to relieve a horse’s back, we have to reinforce the abdominal -no abs, no back.
Further research is needed to confirm these findings in ridden horses, but the study suggests that taped horses take longer or larger steps forward, covering more ground with each stride. This method holds potential for enhancing training programs, especially in activities like dressage, or racing where efficient movement and muscle use is vital.
Final note:
To avoid discomfort when removing the tape, pull it off gently in the direction of the hair growth. Some of the horses will keep it on for two to three weeks, and as the hair renews and sheds, the tape comes off on its own as it does, after about three weeks. More commonly, the tape will come off quite easily well before that time. In fact, we had difficulty getting the tape to stick well enough to stay on through our entire test run, an issue that we credit to it being a warm, humid day and residual fly spray from the day before, a necessary evil this time of year.
For more expert tips on how to apply and use Kinesiology Tape – Expert Insights & Tips On The Use Of Kinesiology Tape On Horses – Koper Equine
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