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Hoof thermal and colour pattern changes in horses after trot-up using infrared thermography | ||
| Iraqi Journal of Veterinary Sciences | ||
| Volume 40, Issue 3, July 2026, Pages 553-561 PDF (1.37 M) | ||
| Document Type: Research Paper | ||
| DOI: 10.33899/ijvs.2026.170035.4704 | ||
| Authors | ||
| Laila Indina Firdaus1; DWI KRISTANTO* 2; Ary Setya Hernanda3; Hijrian Widianto4 | ||
| 1Veterinary Professional Education Study Program, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universitas Brawijaya, Malang, Indonesia | ||
| 2Laboratory of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universitas Brawijaya, Malang, Indonesia | ||
| 3Veterinary Education Study Program, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Negeri Semarang, Semarang, Indonesia | ||
| 4Equine Veterinary Practitioner, Meraki Equine Clinic, Blitar, Indonesia | ||
| Abstract | ||
| Alterations in peripheral circulation and local metabolic activity within the equine hoof may precede overt clinical signs of lameness. This exploratory study aimed to characterise changes in hoof surface temperature and thermal colour distribution in clinically healthy horses following trot-up exercise at different distances using infrared thermography. Three clinically sound crossbred geldings underwent trot-up at baseline/0 m, 90 m, 180 m, and 270 m on a standardised hard, dry track under controlled environmental conditions. Thermographic images of the coronary band, hoof wall, sole, frog, and heel were obtained at rest and within 20-30 seconds after each trot-up distance using a fixed camera-hoof distance, a constant Iron bow colour palette and an emissivity setting of 0.95. Mean surface temperature for each region of interest was extracted as the primary quantitative variable, while pseudo-colour thermograms were analysed as complementary graphical maps of surface temperature distribution using predefined RGB-based thresholds. Hoof surface temperature increased progressively with trot-up distance in all examined regions (p < 0.05), with the coronary band showing the greatest distance-related rise, and thermograms demonstrated a distance-dependent shift from cooler to warmer colour categories. These findings provide baseline information on physiological hoof surface temperature and thermal distribution responses to trot-up in a small sample of healthy horses and support the use of infrared thermography as a non-invasive, adjunctive tool for objective assessment during lameness evaluation. However, infrared thermography reflects surface temperature rather than blood flow or metabolism, and the small sample size and limited population restrict the generalisability of the results. | ||
| Keywords | ||
| equine; hoof; infrared thermography; surface temperature | ||
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