If you are knowledgeable you can also apply a pressure wrap around the leg,” advises Carter. “If you notice that your horse is limping or its leg is swollen the first thing you want to do is stop exercising them. If the injury is further up in the leg it is also possible to see swelling of the leg. “With that said, even with the best care an animal can always injure itself.”Īs a horse owner, it is fairly easy to recognize if your horse is lame as most likely there will be some limping. “You should be as aware as possible of the terrain on which you are riding and make sure that your horse has the proper conditioning for the activity you are having it perform,” urges Carter. Horses can even injure themselves while bucking and playing in a pasture. Some can happen as the result of accidents, such as stepping in a hole or on a rock during a trail ride and twisting an ankle. Of course, your horse doesn’t have to be an elite athlete to suffer an injury. “Foot lamenesses can be caused by traumatic injuries or as a result of a degenerative process.” “Probably the greatest number of cases we see are soft tissue injuries in the foot and lower limb,” notes Carter. Jumpers on the other hand tend to have more soft tissue injuries. For example, race horses tend to present injuries such as bowed tendons or bone chips in joints. The type of equine lameness is generally dependent on the horse’s use. “The lameness can be a result of things such as chipped bones, bowed tendons and other soft tissue injuries.” Kent Carter, professor of equine lameness and chief of medicine at the Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences Large Animal Hospital. “Most of the injuries we see are muscular/skeletal lamenesses,” states Dr. Equine lameness is an abnormality of gait that is caused by pain or restriction of movement. While these sports are relatively safe, just like a human athlete, there is always a possibility of injury and in most cases with horses the injury tends to be lameness.
Many horses are trained athletes that are bred and conditioned for a specific sport such as racing, jumping, western performance or dressage. Unfortunately, it is still not uncommon for these athletes to injure themselves performing the very actions they trained for. From runners to swimmers, all athletes train to handle the specific stress their sport requires. An athlete’s body is trained to handle an amazing amount of work and stress.
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