The 17th annual meeting of the Association for Equine Sports Medicine was held in Leesburg, Va., from March 5-8. The meeting was attended by 400 veterinarians, sports physiology researchers, as well as others interested in equine health. The meeting offered topics ranging from how stall housing can impair bone development in young horses, to diagnostic thermography. The following highlights some of the presentations at this year’s AESM meeting.


Care Of Tendons And Ligaments








SARAH LIBBEY GREENHALGH


Research showed that supplementing HMB in training and racing Thoroughbreds increased performance.

Virginia B. Reef, DVM, Diplomate ACVIM, of the New Bolton Center, University of Pennsylvania, presented this information to an audience eager to learn more about the use of ultrasonography in tendon and ligament injuries. According to Reef, tendon and ligament injuries are the number one reason upper division sport horses are laid up.


Signs of ligament or tendon injury will vary, but, according to Reef, “The most frequent indication of tendon or ligament injury is swelling in the affected limb in the tendon or ligament area. Heat and sensitivity on palpation of the injured area are also frequently detected. Lameness is present in less than 50% of the horses with tendon or ligament injury. An injured tendon or ligament should be suspected when the characteristic signs of swelling, h