Equine Bowed Tendon Treatment

Tendonitis, sometimes called bowed tendon, in the horse refers to tears in the digital flexor tendons. The location of the tear is used to accurately describe the bow: high bow, middle bow, low bow, or low-low bow. Typically, the tendon in the forelegs is affected, but tendonitis does occur in the rear legs of harness racers or older horses.

  1. Causes

    • These injuries often occur at the end of a long race or a lengthy workout, when muscles are fatigued and the horse no longer has the muscle tone to compensate for rapid loading and overstretching of the tendon. If the horse is overworked and stretches the tendon more than 8 percent of its normal length, tears can occur, according to veterinary Dr. Patricia Provost. Therefore, the injury generally occurs in jumpers, hunters, racehorses, and quarter horses. In can, however, occur in any horse because of a blow directly to the tendon.

    Symptoms

    • The signs of tendonitis are generalized swelling throughout the are of injury with a "bowed" appearance from a side view. The horse's leg will be warm and sensitive to touch. The horse may develop lameness and stand with his hoof in a resting position--heel off the ground.

    Effects of Tendonitis

    • Within the injured tendon, there is bleeding and leakage of inflammatory fluids. Further damage is done by muscle enzymes, which are released. Additionally, a pocket of debris and serum can develop within the tendon. All this contributes to the disruption of the blood supply to the tendon.

      As the tendon begins to heal, fibrous connective and scar tissue replace the inflamed tendon tissue. This causes the tendon to bow out at the source of the injury. Typically, competitive horses suffering from tendonitis are retired from their career.

    Initial Treatment

    • The first 48 hours of treatment are critical to prevent further long-term damage to the tendon. This is typically done by using ice, pressure, and anti-inflammatory drugs through cold therapy. Ice packs should be applied to the area every 20 minutes three to four times a day for two days, according to PetPlace.com. Using cold therapy helps to speed the healing process by increasing the blood flow to the area and decreasing the inflammation.

      Bandages should be used to support not only the injured leg, but also all the legs. The horse will offset his weight from the injured leg to the others, which causes stress to those legs. The bandages will give all the legs support during the healing process.

    Long-term Treatment

    • Resting the horse is also critical in stopping further damage. The horse should not be worked until the injury is completely healed, which may take as long as six months. According to veterinary Dr. E Gaughan of the Center of Equine Therapy, continued efforts to reduce the inflammation at the injury site through anti-inflammatory drugs is beneficial to complete recovery.