Elite athletes are always looking for an edge over their competitors, and many times they find that edge by applying the science o
Even if they can’t tell you where it hurts, horses with back pain will soon be able to benefit from Scottish and Austrian research focusing on the long muscles of the equine back.
In the article, which is slated for an upcoming edition of
Tendon injuries are an important cause of wastage in athletic horses, particularly (when injuries occur in) energy storing tendons–such as the superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT)–which act like springs to contribute to movement.
Young horses in training are vulnerable to a wide variety of problems–everything from respiratory disease to training injuries. These horses are often taken off the farm where they grew up, transported to training facilities where they
Several entries will have had long layoffs, something that was once unheard of
Four horses have run just two prep races. Four others are coming in off long layoffs. And some didn’t even race as two-year-olds. Conventiona
The loss of star racehorses in training and the negative effect it has on the sport was a hot topic during a panel discussion Dec. 5 at the 33rd Symposium on Racing & Gaming in Tucson, Ariz.
A panel that included Eclipse Award-winnin
Although training might make your yearling look like a bodybuilder, that physique doesn’t guarantee athletic prowess. Evolutionary factors–not early speed or exercise programs–determine the amount of fast-twitch muscle horses have as adults.
Trainers, owners, and researchers have long pondered the effects of a large heart (one that is naturally occurring and not a result of disease), and have even attempted to use heart size as a predictor of athletic ability.
Musculoskeletal injury is the main cause of wastage in Thoroughbred racehorses worldwide, with nearly 30% of all fractures being pelvic and tibial stress fractures. California studies in the late 1990s suggested fast work increased the risk of
Ponying is leading one horse from another. The pony horse is the one you are riding; the ponied horse is the one being led. Ponying is a good way to exercise a horse you don’t have time to ride or one that can’t be ridden. If you need to keep tw
Training young horses for jumping at six months of age is ineffective and unnecessary, according to a Dutch study published in the American Journal of Veterinary Research. The effect of specific jump training on young horses’ jumping
It is widely believed that exercise and limb-loading in foals help joint cartilage functionally adapt to the rigors of athletic activity. In 2005, Dutch researchers set out to find out if they could verify the concept of functional adaptation of
?Juvenile bowed tendons, or ?baby bows,? are not uncommon in yearlings and weanlings,? said Johanna Reimer, VMD, Dipl. ACVIM, Dipl. ACVC (cardiology), of the Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, Ky., at the 2002 American Association of
Beneath the smooth surface of articular cartilage, subchondral bone gives structural support to joints. Normally, newborn foals have a lot of water in this layer, which is slowly replaced by calcium and collagen as the foal weights his joints.
Will restricting a warmblood foal’s turnout slow down his growth?
Dr. E.E. Watson was a veterinarian of some repute for many years in the Midwest during the middle decades of the 20th Century. He not only treated racehorses, but he bred them, owned them, and trained them. One year in the late 1950s, he had a
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