When the muscles and nervous tissues suffer: the Horse Tendinitis

Horse Tendinitis is perhaps the accident that most often occurs in sports horses and represents an inflammation of the horse’s tendons.
This disorder can be acute or chronic and it can lead the equine to limp, compromising its performance and results in races. Therefore, is important to know the problem’s etiology, so as to relieve the symptoms and encourage a quick recovery.

Have informations about Tendinitis

What are causes and symptoms of this tendinous disorder?

Causes of Horse Tendinitis can be varied. Especially, when the horse undergoes a particularly intense and repeated training, the tendon can go too hard.
This is mostly true in racing horses, which work at high speeds, so an appropriate training is essential to avoid fatigue injuries.

It’s also possible that improper hoof’s filing or its incorrect conformation can lead the growth of this painful problem.

If you’re interested in knowing how to treat your equine’s hooves, read Terra di Cuma’s article about the care of the hoof

Regarding the symptoms, limp is the most obvious sign of an inflammation tendinous disorder, especially in acute phase. Especially considering that the front legs are most affected by the back ones, often horses with tendonitis problems may not be able, for example, to stop after jumping.

Furthermore, it’s possible to notice swelling in the affected parts, especially if the tendonitis concerns digital or surface flexors.

The importance of timely diagnosis of Tendinitis

In case of a suspected tendon injury, you should contact a veterinarian. While waiting for a medical examination, it’s preferable to leave the horse completely at rest, especially in the acute phases where exercise can worsen the pre-existing situation.

Diagnosis of Horse Tendonitis first of all, is done with an objective examination: in case of inflammation, the leg may be hot and swollen under the palm of your hand. In case of chronic problem there is often a “thickening” of the tissues.

The veterinarian visits the standing animal, watching its movements and, in the event of a suspicious horseback tendon problem, will use the ultrasound technique. With this type of exam, you can do a differential analysis of the cause of the horse’s health problem, distinguishing the tendinitis from other disorders.

In fact, the ultrasound technique makes possible to highlight any breaks in the collagen fibers that make up the tendon tissues. In this way, can be evaluate (by the size of the dark area shown by the ultrasound) the entity of the horse’s tendon injury.

If you want to know more about inflammation of equine tendons, click here