Sport Science (Equine), MRes

Sport Science (Equine), MRes

Nottingham Trent University
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Description

This distinctive research-based MRes allows the flexibility to develop a specific area of expertise within Sport Science including sports horse training and performance.

This course is taught across NTU's Clifton and Brackenhurst campuses by academics from the School of Science and Technology and the School of Animal, Rural and Environmental Sciences. It provides the opportunity to develop expertise within a specific area of Sport Science, such as performance analysis, sports nutrition, biomechanics and sports horse training and performance.

An MRes is made up of a total of 180 credit points, of which 120 credit points are obtained from a research project, supported by 60 credit points of…

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Didn't find what you were looking for? See also: Equine, Sport, Science, Psychology, and (Sport) Nutrition.

This distinctive research-based MRes allows the flexibility to develop a specific area of expertise within Sport Science including sports horse training and performance.

This course is taught across NTU's Clifton and Brackenhurst campuses by academics from the School of Science and Technology and the School of Animal, Rural and Environmental Sciences. It provides the opportunity to develop expertise within a specific area of Sport Science, such as performance analysis, sports nutrition, biomechanics and sports horse training and performance.

An MRes is made up of a total of 180 credit points, of which 120 credit points are obtained from a research project, supported by 60 credit points of taught modules.

As the focus is on developing research expertise, the project is conducted over the entire year of study. The primary objective is to develop and submit work of publishable quality. Current practical, technical and research skills are embedded in the course to reflect the needs of sport-related careers and industry, and it is also a great stepping stone to a PhD.

You can choose to do a research project in any sport-related sub-discipline. Examples include but are not limited to:

  • Sports Performance
  • Performance Analysis
  • Sports Nutrition
  • Exercise Physiology, including Environmental Physiology
  • Biomechanics
  • Kinesiology and Sports Injuries
  • Sport Psychology.

The University has strong ties to national and international sporting bodies and institutions throughout the sporting community. These include:

  • Professional Football Clubs
  • England Hockey
  • Holme Pierrepont National Watersports Centre
  • the British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences
  • the British Olympic Association.

Internationally leading research is currently undertaken in areas such as sports performance, extreme environments, nutritional supplementation, physical activity and health. NTU is at the heart of an increasingly competitive market that has seen an explosion of interest in sport science. That is why we have invested heavily in world-leading facilities and a knowledgeable research team.

Not interested in Equine Sport Science? Click here for MRes Sports Science information.

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Core modules

Sport Science Research Methods
You will develop your skills in the use of software packages for statistical analysis of data. You will learn how to plan, write and deliver oral presentations and research proposals. There will also be sessions involving critical appraisal of poster presentations.

Sport in Action
This module will provide you with relevant information to develop your employability and practical skills in your chosen field. The module will include a variety of teaching methods and sessions that are aimed at assisting sport scientists with both field and laboratory work and research.

Optional modules

Advanced Topics in Sport and Exercise Psychology
This module will enable you to critique current research from high impact journals across a range of key areas such as imagery, goal setting and motivation. This module requires you to examine both qualitative and quantitative research in sport and exercise psychology.

Exercise Physiology
This module aims to provide students with a systematic understanding and critical awareness of the issues at the forefront of exercise physiology. Current research ranging from exercise in extreme environments and sports nutrition to health and physical activity will be evaluated.

Applied Kinesiology and Sports Injuries Rehabilitation
This area of study will enable you to measure various indices of neuromuscular performance and critically evaluate their relative importance in the maintenance of synovial joint integrity. Also, you will develop an awareness of the challenges faced by the injured athlete and rehabilitation team.

Performance Analysis and Skill Acquisition
This module aims to provide a strong theoretical underpinning in areas of performance analysis and skill acquisition, coupled with industry-relevant experience. Contemporary issues at the forefront of performance analysis and skill acquisition research will be discussed and explored. Work will be undertaken in line with the ISPAS accreditation.

Experimental Sport Biomechanics
This module will enable you to develop a systematic understanding of the measurement and analytical tools required to undertake sport biomechanics research and support work.

Applied Sport Psychology
This area of study will enable you to apply psychological knowledge to enhance the personal development and performance of athletes and coaches. You will be introduced to Applied Sport Psychology consultancy and the intervention techniques required to work with athletes.

Sports Horse Training and Performance
This module covers performance horse management and welfare, including Study the physiological effects of exercise (musculoskeletal and cardiovascular adaptations, nutrition and energy metabolism, immunology, haematology, physiological stress, recent advances in exercise physiology). Injury and rehabilitation are also addressed, such as recent advances in veterinary diagnosis, injury prevention and recent advances in equine therapeutic techniques.

How do you study?
The taught modules are delivered by a combination of lectures, laboratory sessions, seminars and tutorials. The research project will involve the design, implementation and evaluation of a major research task.

Facilities
The course benefits from the excellent facilities and equipment available in the School of Science and Technology.

Brackenhurst Equestrian Centre consists of extensive and unique facilities including international size indoor and outdoor riding arenas, a horse walker, round pen and crew yards. The newest addition to our facilities is a 40 x 20 metre research arena which is surrounded by a seven foot fence to allow loose schooling. Observation holes in the fence allow staff and students to observe the horse(s) from outside the arena to reduce any influence on natural behaviour.

Find out more about our Equestrian facilities here.

Research by both staff and students is carried out at Brackenhurst Equestrian Centre and in collaboration with external partners. The overriding focus of this research is to enhance the performance and welfare of the horse, and to investigate the horse-human relationship. Particular emphasis is on the following areas:

Performance analysis of horse and rider
Video analysis is common in other sports and has been used to highlight weaknesses in technique and subsequently enhance performance in riders. DartfishProSuite® version 5.0 has been used to conduct a preliminary investigation into the effects of jumping saddle design on rider posture. The results of this study were presented at the World Congress of Performance Analysis of Sport IX at the University of Worcester (July 2012). This analysis was carried out on riders on the Racewood Horse simulator in the performance analysis room at the Equestrian Centre.

The Racewood horse simulator has also been used with Tekscanpressure mapping technology to assess rider balance and saddle pressure in a number of undergraduate and postgraduate research projects.

The visual skills of equestrian athletes have been investigated using mobile eye tracking technology. The ASL Mobile Eye was used to identify gaze behaviour in show jump riders and this technology was trialled by international show jump rider and trainer Tim Stockdale. A report on this can be found on Tim’s website.

Further use of mobile eye tracking technology is being carried out to identify gaze behaviour in other equestrian sports. Recently data was collected in collaboration with Tracksys (Nottingham) using SMI mobile eye tracking glasses to monitor where carriage drivers look.

The facilities at the Equestrian Centre enable staff and students to conduct a range of in-hand and ridden projects and the large projection screens allow observation and feedback to occur simultaneously or to be recorded and played back at a later date.

Assessing ridden behaviour
In their rules for dressage events the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) state that "Welfare must take precedence over all other demands" and that the object of and general principles of dressage includes "the development of the horse into a happy athlete through harmonious education". Here at NTU, we are researching methods of identifying what actually constitutes a 'happy athlete'. Current evidence is reviewed in a paper entitled: Assessment of Ridden Horse Behaviour and staff and student research projects aim to address this question. We have evaluated the use of novel methods of assessing mental state in horses, for example monitoring changes in eye temperature using infrared thermography (IRT). We found that this measure correlates with other measures such as changes in salivary cortisol concentration, and that signs of stress / anxiety in working horses could be identified using this approach. Behaviour is analysed using the Observer software.

There is much debate surrounding the subjective analysis of ridden behaviour, for example in the judging of dressage tests and in the allocation of the collective marks. Remote eye tracking equipment is used to identify where people look when assessing ridden horse behaviour and data from this work will be used to contribute to answering the question: "What makes a happy equine athlete?" Collaboration with Visiting Fellow Richard Davison (Olympic dressage rider and World Class Performance Manager for British Dressage) will ensure that this research addresses the question at the highest level of the sport.

Monitoring activity patterns
At the Equestrian Centre, the horses are housed individually in traditional loose boxes, American barn-style housing and crew yards, as well as regularly being turned out on grassland. The effect of housing type on activity patterns during turnout was monitored using GPS technology (Garmin Forerunner 305) with findings suggesting that horses catch-up on their activity after periods of restricted movement. However, they do not expend unnecessary energy even then and to encourage increased movement of horses when turned out a system of tracks have been devised in one of the grazing areas at the Equestrian Centre.

This GPS technology has been used to monitor donkey activity and it was found that the mean distance travelled (2.259±0.150km) by the herd on a track system was significantly longer than in a standard paddock (1.417±0.367km). Similarly average speed mirrored these results with an average speed of 0.188±0.001km/h on the track which was higher than the standard paddock (0.1180.003km/h).

GPS collars (Lotek 3300s) have also been used to monitor animals used for conservation grazing and the movement of two ponies at Sherwood Pines Country Park is shown below. Valuable information about how areas of land grazed by different species can be obtained in this way and the results used to inform management and stocking strategies.

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