Natalie Barb reports

A pilot study at De Montfort University, Lincoln, also shows this asymmetry is probably behind many of the injuries suffered by thoroughbreds.

Dr Williams: Horses suffer similar problems to humans

Ninety-eight per cent of the animals examined by the university's Equine Biomechanics research team showed some level of asymmetry.

The team believe a more extensive study will find ways to improve the performance and welfare of the animals.

Air-cushioned shoes

Most horses show some level of asymmetry

"Human athletes can have their performance affected by very slight limb-length differentials," says team leader Dr Gail Williams, "and there is no reason to suppose that the same sort of thing doesn't apply to horses."

Dr Williams thinks special attachments could be clipped on to a horse's shoes to achieve the correct symmetry.

"Thousands of pounds have been spent on developing air-cushioned shoes for athletes, yet racehorses are still wearing the same metal shoes they have worn for the past two hundred years," she says.

Shoe attachments could help, says Dr Williams

"But there is certainly no reason to think that we can't clip something on the bottom of the shoe in terms of light-weight material that will actually create a symmetry in the left-right leg."

Kings of the turf

Dr Williams: This is an animal welfare issue as well

De Montfort are working with major stud farms to measure bone length and joint angles in young horses from soon after foaling to when they start racing as two year olds. Standard biomechanical techniques allow the team to produce moving computer images of an animal's gait.

There are also plans to use a Force Plate - a sensor device buried in the ground - which measures the forces generated each time the hoof touches down.

Dr Williams believes the research will help identify the horses most prone to injury and those most likely to shine on the racetrack. In general, she thinks it will improve animal welfare.