A FEATURE PRODUCED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH EQITOM EQUINE CLINIC
PHOTOGRAPHY: COURTESY EQUITOM
A subtle warmth in the tendon after training. A faint, on-and-off lameness that seems to disappear with rest. For many horse owners, these small signs are easy to shrug off – yet they’re often the first clue that a tendon injury is developing
The good news: thanks to better imaging and a new generation of treatments, tendon injuries are far less of a dead end for a horse’s career than they used to be.
Why tendons get injured
The tendons running down the back of the cannon bone work like natural springs: with every stride, they stretch and then snap back, absorbing the shock of movement. It’s this constant, repetitive strain – rather than one dramatic accident – that usually causes the damage. Often, the fibres inside the tendon start to weaken and break down gradually, long before the horse shows any visible lameness.
A number of factors tend to combine to bring on an injury. Hard, uneven or very deep ground increases the strain on every stride. A training programme that increases speed or workload too quickly doesn't give the tendon time to adapt. Fatigue late in a session is a common trigger too, as the supporting muscles tire, more of the load gets passed onto the tendon itself. Poor conformation, an unbalanced foot, and simply getting older can all make a horse more prone to this type of injury as well. Because the damage often builds up quietly over weeks, a horse can already have a developing injury while still training and competing apparently normally.
Which tendon is affected?
Most tendon injuries in performance horses involve one of two structures at the back of the lower leg. The superficial digital flexor tendon, closest to the skin, is the most commonly affected; it’s the classic “bowed tendon,” named after the curved swelling that appears when the injured area fills with fluid and scar tissue. The deep digital flexor tendon, which runs closer to the bone, is less often affected but tends to be trickier to treat, particularly when the injury sits within the sheath around the tendon or lower down near the hoof. The suspensory ligament, though technically a ligament rather than a tendon, sits in the same region and is managed with a very similar approach, which is why the two are often discussed together.
Seeing the damage: how vets diagnose it
A standard ultrasound scan is usually the first step to confirm a tendon injury and see how big the damaged area is. It’s quick, can be done in the yard or at the clinic, and gives an immediate first impression of the severity of the injury. But ordinary ultrasound has its limits; the picture can vary depending on how the probe is held, which makes it hard to pick up early or very subtle damage, or to compare one scan to the next with real precision.
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