Gait Analysis software & advice..

Hi all!
Firstly, let me introduce myself.
My name is Luke and I am a farrier (put shoes on horses) from the UK.
Secondly, let me apologise for posting in the wrong place, this is the best recourse I have found so far!!

I am just looking for advice on a place to find some gait software.
I would like to be able to record a horse move without shoes and then compare the gait after the shoes are fitted/changed.

The system would have to be non-contact so something like the graphic animators use with the stick-on paper dots would be good.

In terms of hardware I have a fairly powerful laptop. I am presuming 2 digital camcorders with a firewire output would be the pest bet for video capture?

In terms of software I have found a few equine based commercial applications but as this is a no-profit project I don't really want to spend much!
I am presuming that a system that tracks dots will track them regardless of what they are stuck to!

I have a basic idea but don't really know much about gait analysis so any pointers would be useful!!
Many thanks, Luke.

There are numerous system, all pretty similar so I'd look for price.

Here's a few links:

http://www.motionanalysis.com
http://www.sportsmotion.com
OptiTrack :: Optical Motion Capture and Tracking :: Optical Motion Capture Solutions :: Capture Your Vision

There is also a really affordable one from New Zealand but I just can't seem to remember the name.

You could really keep it simple and use a video camera and draw key measures onto still frames which you print from the video capture. There is nothing wrong with this. You will be able to compare joint angles and deviation from CG based on lines drawn from the registration points which will presumably be marked on the horse. If I were you I would start simple. Then if you get some interesting findings you will have a good basis on which to sell your research idea to parties who may have the money to fund a more sophisticated system.
Good luck!

hi! I'm currently a third year at the university of Malta studying physiotherapy. I really like this site because it contains a lot of useful information. But i have one fear. When I'm in the questions and answers forum, sometimes i find it difficult to identify the patient's problem, whereas the physios here just answer the question without hesitation. Is it normal to find it a bit difficult to make a diagnosis when you're still a student?

Sometimes I find it really hard to make the right diagnosis even when the patient is being examined. There is no doupt that it is hard or impossible to make a diagnose without seeing the patient first. So don't worry you will get there as your skills progress.

Run3D.co.uk
3D gait analysis for running ad walking -check it out!