Equine Saddle Pressure Analysis with pressR

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library(pressR)

Saddle-pressure mapping using capacitive sensor mats has been used extensively in the equine back-health literature (Werner et al. 2002; Moenkemoeller et al. 2005; von Peinen et al. 2010). This vignette walks through a typical analysis.

Load the saddle layout

layout <- pr_layout_saddle("horse")
names(layout$regions)
#> [1] "cranial_left"  "cranial_right" "middle_left"   "middle_right" 
#> [5] "caudal_left"   "caudal_right"

Load a synthetic trial

trial <- pr_example_trial("saddle_horse")
trial
#> 
#> ── pr_trial ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
#> • System: "saddle_mat"
#> • Layout: "saddle_horse"
#> • Frames: 500
#> • Duration: 10 s
#> • Sampling: 50 Hz
#> • Sensors: 248
#> • Subject: "HORSE01"
#> • Date: "2026-11-03"
#> • Condition: "walk"

Inspect the pressure map

pr_plot_heatmap_masked(trial)

Saddle pressure heatmap with 6-region mask

Regional analysis with reference thresholds

masks <- pr_mask_saddle_6(layout)
reg <- pr_calc_regional(trial, masks)
reg
#> # A tibble: 6 × 6
#>   region          mpp   mvp max_force contact_area pti_mean
#>   <chr>         <dbl> <dbl>     <dbl>        <dbl>    <dbl>
#> 1 cranial_left   18.4  2.41     105.           330     17.7
#> 2 cranial_right  16.5  2.13      94.7          320     15.5
#> 3 middle_left    12.0  1.71      82.4          370     12.7
#> 4 middle_right   10.4  1.53      73.2          370     11.2
#> 5 caudal_left    18.3  2.03     113.           430     14.4
#> 6 caudal_right   15.6  1.80     100.           410     12.6
pr_plot_regional_bar(reg, "mvp", thresholds = pr_ref_saddle())

Regional mean-pressure bar chart

Bridge detection

bridge <- pr_calc_saddle_bridge(trial)
bridge
#> 
#> ── Saddle Bridge Analysis ──
#> 
#> • Bridge ratio: 0.773
#> • Bridging: FALSE
#> Pressure distribution appears continuous across the saddle (ratio = 0.77).

Slip / asymmetric loading

slip <- pr_calc_saddle_slip(trial)
slip$symmetry_index_mean
#> [1] 10.97069
slip$dominant_side
#> [1] "balanced"

Composite report

pr_plot_saddle_report(trial)

Saddle-fit composite report

References

  • Werner D, et al. (2002). J Vet Med A Physiol Pathol Clin Med 49(9): 460-465.
  • Moenkemoeller S, et al. (2005). Pferdeheilkunde 21(2): 102-108.
  • von Peinen K, et al. (2010). Equine Vet J Suppl 42: 650-653.