Equus – August 2019

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Joint-Friendly

Training

Strategies

Here’s how fi ve top trainers condition

their horses for high performance while

protecting joint health and soundness.

By Laurel Scott

I

t’s a constant concern with horses in sport: how to shield

those all-important fetlocks, knees, elbows, hocks, stifl es,

shoulders and hips (the list goes on!) from wear and tear.

Even the spine consists of a series of joints that are subject

to injury. That’s a lot of working parts, and working parts

need regular maintenance to continue working.

One day, you might notice that your horse isn’t jogging as

fl uidly as usual, or that he’s less fl exible when working cattle,

jumping a course, performing a shoulder-in or ambling down

the trail. He might even start pulling up lame. Whether a horse

is a “greenie” or a veteran, stiffness, heat, swelling and lameness

speak to the pernicious process of degenerative joint disease

known as osteoarthritis.

So how to preserve these precious parts? Each type of horse

sport carries with it different risks to the joints. It’s a good idea

to take stock of these risks and initiate steps to minimize them

as much as possible. Here, noted equestrians in different

disciplines share some of their strategies for joint protection.

autumn 2019 EQUUS 498 57