{"id":8182,"date":"2017-02-07T09:05:55","date_gmt":"2017-02-07T08:05:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/?p=8182"},"modified":"2021-08-10T16:46:28","modified_gmt":"2021-08-10T15:46:28","slug":"horse-tendinitis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/en\/horse-tendinitis\/","title":{"rendered":"My Horse has Tendinitis, how bad is it?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ouch, tendinitis hurts the horse and is scary for the rider! We\u2019re never really sure how it happens. We wonder if we could have done anything to prevent it. Especially since it\u2019s something that can get worse slowly, without you noticing until one day when \u201cAh, my horse is lame!\u201d.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In this article, I\u2019m going to answer a few questions about this: which tendons are affected? Which signs can alert you? What can you do to help your horse recover?<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<div id=\"toc_container\" class=\"no_bullets\"><p class=\"toc_title\">Table des mati&egrave;res<\/p><ul class=\"toc_list\"><li><a href=\"#Lets-start-with-a-bit-of-anatomy\">Let\u2019s start with a bit of anatomy<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#What-should-alarm-you\">What should alarm you?<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#But-how-did-this-happen\">But how did this happen?<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#So-what-can-you-do\">So, what can you do?<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#To-conclude\">To conclude<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n<h2><span id=\"Lets-start-with-a-bit-of-anatomy\"><b>Let\u2019s start with a bit of anatomy<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You should be used to it by now, at Equisense we (really) like anatomy. Not just because we like pretty drawings (it\u2019s still part of the reason) but because it explains a lot!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In this article, we\u2019ll speak of 3 main tendons (prolongations of a muscle towards a bone) and ligaments (linking two bones between each other):<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><b>superficial digital flexor tendon<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. It\u2019s the one you can feel right under the skin, at the back of the cannon bone.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><b>deep digital flexor tendon<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. It\u2019s covered by the superficial digital flexor tendon and it is attached to the carpus (knee bone) by the subcarpal check ligament and ends in the foot.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The<\/span><b> suspensory ligament<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. It divides in 2 branches halfway up the cannon bone.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-8183 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/tendons_schema.png\" alt=\"horse tendinitis\" width=\"2074\" height=\"1040\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/tendons_schema.png 2074w, https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/tendons_schema-300x150.png 300w, https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/tendons_schema-768x385.png 768w, https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/tendons_schema-1024x513.png 1024w, https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/tendons_schema-538x270.png 538w, https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/tendons_schema-850x426.png 850w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2074px) 100vw, 2074px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Vous pouvez sentir ces 3 structures anatomiques tr\u00e8s facilement sur votre cheval. Si, si, je vous assure: essayez, vous verrez !<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The tendon is <\/span><b>mature early on (when the horse is 2-years-old)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. This means it won\u2019t adapt to effort, like a muscle will change according to how much it works [1]. It has (thankfully!) <\/span><b>a very high resistance to tension (until 2000kg)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> [1] but if this resistance is overwhelmed, the tendon fibers get damaged.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>The particularities of the horse\u2019s legs<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Have you noticed that, compared to us, there\u2019s almost no muscles in the horse\u2019s legs? There is however a lot of tendons and ligaments. This is because the horse\u2019s body is used to running away. The tendons of its muscles are voluminous and have a particularity: they have very powerful \u201caccessory ligaments\u201d allowing the movements to be automatic [2]. The energy economy provided by these ligaments increases the horse\u2019s speed. They are very elastic, which allows them to in fact replace the muscles, and be lighter than them.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>This mechanism is a bother in the case of a tendinitis<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> because with the automatisation, the horse can\u2019t control how much strength it puts on its tendons [1]. Furthermore, with the horse\u2019s body weight being what it is, the strain is important when it moves, especially when it runs. It\u2019s when these strains become too important that tendon injuries appear.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span id=\"What-should-alarm-you\"><b>What should alarm you?<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n<h3><b>Daily monitoring<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Firstly, you need to know that tendinitis are <\/span><b>progressive injuries<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> which will worsen as time passes. They often have what we call a <\/span><b>subclinical phase<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. To put it shortly, it\u2019s a phase in which the symptoms are not yet noticeable, they are <\/span><b>subtle<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. It\u2019s in cases like this that you can use new technology (like the symmetry indicator on the <a href=\"https:\/\/equisense.com\/products\/motion-sport\">Equisense Motion<\/a> &#x1f609;) to get more awareness on your horse\u2019s well being. This can help you detect a tendinitis at an early stage, <\/span><b>before the injury gets worse<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. If the symptoms increase, we reach an<\/span><b> acute or clinical phase<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-8186 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/ecran_app.png\" alt=\"horse tendinitis\" width=\"1292\" height=\"740\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/ecran_app.png 1292w, https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/ecran_app-300x172.png 300w, https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/ecran_app-768x440.png 768w, https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/ecran_app-1024x587.png 1024w, https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/ecran_app-471x270.png 471w, https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/ecran_app-850x487.png 850w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1292px) 100vw, 1292px\" \/><\/p>\n<h3><b>Distorsions<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You can be alerted by a <\/span><b>deformation of the tendon region<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, associated or not to heat and\/or pain when you touch it. That\u2019s why you should touch this part of your horse often! Before you ride and after your ride, before you turn your horse in. Your hand (associated to your brain of course!) will get used to the \u201cnorm\u201d for your horse and you\u2019ll feel the anomaly the day it happens. If you feel something odd, <\/span><b>don\u2019t wait up<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and immediately call your vet, even if your horse isn\u2019t lame. [3]<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>The much dreaded lameness<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You can also be alerted by <\/span><b>a lameness<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> when the injury isn\u2019t physically visible. It\u2019s often the case when the injury is on the suspensory ligament or the deep digital flexor tendon. Often, the lameness is <\/span><b>sporadic<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (and you might be wondering if you wouldn\u2019t be dreaming!). Even if there is no rule for lameness, it <\/span><b>often appears after a warm up and is accentuated by a deep terrain.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> [3]<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Be careful, there\u2019s a \u201ctrap\u201d case:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> &#x1f62e; it\u2019s possible that your horse presents a distortion around the tendons on a foreleg and is lame on the other foreleg (the one without a distortion). In this case, your horse can suffer from arthropathy on the lame leg (the arthritis pain causes the lameness) and the chronic overload on the opposite leg causes the tendinitis (the horse relieves the painful member, creating an injury on the other side). [1]<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span id=\"But-how-did-this-happen\"><b>But how did this happen?<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We have a tendency to blame ourselves and wonder if we could have done anything to prevent this tendinitis from happening. Keep in mind that there are 3 possible causes for tendinitis [1]:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Strain damage<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: it appears on horses working a lot. There is then a mismatch between the horse\u2019s level of exercise and the abilities of the tendon to distort during the effort. This damage heal when you leave the horse to rest.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Degenerative damage<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: it mostly happens in older horses. The degenerative process can\u2019t be stopped and the horse won\u2019t heal. The tendon will fibrose eventually (they lose elasticity). Leaving the horse to rest will only help for pain relief and won\u2019t heal it.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b style=\"font-size: inherit;\">Limb conformation faults<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: some horses have poor limb conformation, enabling chronic tendinitis when a leg is overloaded.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Let\u2019s keep in mind that tendon injuries are <\/span><b>frequent in sport horses<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. However, their origin depends on the horse\u2019s specific sport and how intense its activity is. For instance, an eventing horse is more likely to get injuries on the suspensory ligament or the superficial digital flexor tendon, a showjumper on the superficial digital flexor tendon or the subcarpal check ligament, and a leisure horse on the deep digital flexor tendon.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Learn more: <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/en\/improve-horse-fitness\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">How to improve my horse&#8217;s physical condition?<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h2><span id=\"So-what-can-you-do\"><b>So, what can you do?<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I won\u2019t get into too much detail on how to treat tendinitis because it could be a whole article by itself as there are so many possible treatments. Let\u2019s just say that <\/span><b>treatment is often long and hard.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> It needs to be <\/span><b>adjusted to every case<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> since every horse has its own personal injuries, its own individual healing factor and its own work activity.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A few notes, though:<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Rest and recovery<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The most important thing to treat a tendinitis is of course <\/span><b>rest <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(or at least a recovery with a large decrease in activity according to the situation). How long your horse should rest? That\u2019s a controversial matter. Studies show that an adjusted recovery program allows better results than resting in a field does. As a matter of fact, it could also decrease the risks of relapse [4,5]. That\u2019s something you have to talk to your vet about.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Let\u2019s still keep in mind that in any case, you have <\/span><b>watch out for your horse gaining weight during its recovery<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">! This could cause issues when it gets back to work.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Learn more: <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/en\/cereal-free-feed\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Cereal free feeds: good idea or not?<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h3><b>Ground management<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Managing the grounds your horse will work on can also help your horse since it affects both the <\/span><b>treatment<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and the <\/span><b>prevention<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of tendinitis.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Overall, it\u2019s important to note that <\/span><b>if the toe (the tip of the hoof) can sink more into the ground, the deep digital flexor tendon and the subcarpal check ligament are less stressed<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Contrariwise, if the toe sinks less into the ground, the superficial digital flexor tendon and the suspensory ligament are less stressed.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>In the case of a deep digital flexor tendon or a subcarpal check ligament tendinitis, it\u2019s better to avoid harder grounds. Contrariwise, for a superficial digital flexor tendon or a suspensory ligament tendinitis, it\u2019s better to avoid softer grounds.<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Unfortunately, it isn\u2019t always easy to apply this \u201cat home\u201d, but you can try to watch out where you go on shows (if your horse is healed of course).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-8189 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/conseils.png\" alt=\"horse tendinitis\" width=\"2074\" height=\"500\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/conseils.png 2074w, https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/conseils-300x72.png 300w, https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/conseils-768x185.png 768w, https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/conseils-1024x247.png 1024w, https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/conseils-604x146.png 604w, https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/conseils-850x205.png 850w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2074px) 100vw, 2074px\" \/><\/p>\n<h3><b>Bandages management\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><b>Stable bandages<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> will restrict the engorgement: they are to be used only on horses whose legs get congested after work and have <\/span><b>no impact on tendinitis prevention<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Exercise wraps<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, on the other hand, <\/span><b>stop the vibrations<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in the horse\u2019s leg. The vibrations enable the vascularization of the leg (so exercise wraps hinder the vascularization). It\u2019s a bit tricky, but exercise wraps are <\/span><b>suitable in an early stage tendinitis<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (because vascularization is bad when the leg is healing at this stage) but <\/span><b>ill advised for old chronic injuries<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (which require a good vascularization).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-4091\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/screenshot_bandes_polo-300x111.png\" alt=\"tendinite cheval\" width=\"1000\" height=\"370\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/screenshot_bandes_polo-300x111.png 300w, https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/screenshot_bandes_polo-768x284.png 768w, https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/screenshot_bandes_polo-1024x379.png 1024w, https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/screenshot_bandes_polo-604x224.png 604w, https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/screenshot_bandes_polo.png 1416w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lastly, let\u2019s say that our treatment of choice depends on the injury and its chronology. We won\u2019t do the same treatment for a subclinical tendinitis or an acute tendinitis or old injuries. That\u2019s why it\u2019s important to have the vet come: with the echography, they\u2019ll be able to provide the right treatment.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span id=\"To-conclude\">To conclude<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tendinitis are <\/span><b>common but complex pathologies,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and it\u2019s not always easy to heal them. The treatment is often disappointing and the pronostic depends on so many factors (origin of the injury, activity, recovery time, etc). \u201cBetter safe than sorry\u201d is more than appropriate here: I will only advise you to pay attention to your horse\u2019s locomotion and its legs every day. Equisense Motion can be a precious tool to monitor this evolution.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">See you soon for another article,<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Marine Slove<br \/>\nVeterinary.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Bibliography:<\/strong><\/p>\n<h6><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">[1]Denoix, J. M. (2011) \u00ab Pathologie tendineuse et ligamentaire \u00bb, cours CIRALE-IPC<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">[2]Galey, B. P. (2012) \u00ab Le cheval et ses patrimoines (1\u00e8re partie) \u00bb, In Situ \u2013 Revue des Patrimoines<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">[3]Denoix, J.M., Audigi\u00e9, F. (2002) \u00ab Affections tendineuses m\u00e9tacarpiennes et m\u00e9tatarsiennes \u00bb, CIRALE-IPC, UP Clinique Equine DEPEC<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">[4]Dyson, S. J. (2004). \u00ab Medical management of superficial digital flexor tendonitis: a comparative study in 219 horses (1992-2000). \u00bb Equine Vet J 36(5): 415-419.<br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">[5]O\u2019Meara, B., B. Bladon, et al. (2010). \u00ab An investigation of the relationship between race performance and superficial digital flexor tendonitis in the Thoroughbred racehorse. \u00bb Equine Vet J 42(4): 322-326.<\/span><\/h6>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ouch, tendinitis hurts the horse and is scary for the rider! We\u2019re never really sure&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/en\/horse-tendinitis\/\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":8192,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[6177],"tags":[6706,6530,7127,7128],"yst_prominent_words":[7120,7114,7117,7110,7121,7125,7118,7126,7115,7111,7123,7116,7112,7122,7124,7119,7113,7109,756,806],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8182"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8182"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8182\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30772,"href":"https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8182\/revisions\/30772"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8192"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8182"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8182"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8182"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.equisense.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=8182"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}