My favorite barefoot story?
In STBR practice it is commonly observed that some horses are presented for racing barefoot at the level of forelimbs or both at the front and rear.
The participants were requested to stand upright and barefoot at mark level on the support surface to control stance width, remaining as still as possible, breathing normally, and being with their arms at their sides.
These will be recorded for each different intensity level of training (barefoot, small and large resistance boots, 45 seconds work per leg).
Stature was measured on a stadiometer (Holtain, UK) to an accuracy of ±0.5 cm with the subject barefoot, feet together, and head level.
Postural sway, indicating static balance, was assessed using a sway meter that measures body displacement at waist level whilst standing barefoot with feet together eyes open and feet together eyes closed.
Gait datasets were acquired using a 9-camera motion capture system (Smart-D system, BTS Bioengineering, Milan, Italy) to reconstruct the 3D position of 21 retroreflective spherical markers located on the subjects skin according to the conventional method [ 29], during level walking in barefoot conditions at self-selected speed.
Movement will be recorded using a 12-camera motion analysis system (Vicon MX, Oxford, UK) and force plates (AMTI, MA, USA) as participants walk barefeet along a 10 m level walkway with speed monitored by two photoelectric beams.
Each participant stands barefoot on the platform and performs two different tests (level 8 = easiest level, level 6 = a more difficult level).
Subjects were instructed to walk barefoot at their normal pace over level ground, to capture their natural gait patterns.
