The Most Common Horse Injuries & Treatments

In my work as an equine acupuncturist I have found common injury sites on the horse’s body. These common injury sites are analogous throughout the different sports which horses compete in, whether it be thoroughbred or harness racing, dressage, jumping of trail riding. You could consider these sites as the ‘Weak Structures’ of the body and with the specific stress these sports place on the weak structures we see these sites as reliable common injury regions of the body. Four different views of the body have been incorporated to show the injury site which include a side (lateral), front (anterior), back (posterior) and top (dorsal) view.

 

Whilst these are the most common injury sites on the body, there are may other more less common sites on the body which can be injured, I hope this can be an information tool to give horsewomen and men an idea and understanding of these sites, while they may or may not cause an obvious lameness, they definatly have a major influence on the performance of the horse in which ever sport they are competing in. It’s also important to mention that if you run your hand over an injury site and get a reaction to palpation that it needs to be defined whether there is an injury present or it there is local hypertonicty which is secondary from another active injury site on the body.

Side (Lateral) View of Horse

Click on the following links to find out more common side (lateral) injuries of a horse.

 

  1. Caudal Pectoral Strains and Tears
  2. Lateral Triceps Tears
  3. Strains and Tears in the Posterior Gluteal
  4. Hamstring Injuries
  5. Fetlock Problems
  6. Desmitis (aka Suspensory Problems)
  7. Carpal Problems
  8. Hind Fetlock Problems (aka Metatarsal-Phalangeal Joint)
  9. The Tarsus (aka Hock Disorders)
  10. Stifle Problems
  11. Hip and Pelvic Problems
  12. Brachiocephalic Tears and Strains
  13. Iliopsoas Muscle Group
  14. Feet Pain
  15. Head and Neck Disorders

Front (Anterior) View of Horse

Click on the following link to find out more common front (anterior) injuries of a horse.

 

  1. Brachiocephalic / Pectoral Seam Tears and Strains

Back (Posterior) View of Horse

Click on the following link to find out more common back (posterior) injuries of a horse.

 

  1. Hamstring Injuries

Top (Dorsal) View of Horse

Click on the following link to find out more common top (dorsal) injuries of a horse.

 

  1. Upper Thoracic Stiffness
  2. Thoraco-Lumbar
  3. Strains and Tear in the Longissimus Insertion to the Transverse Lumbar Vertebrae at the Longissimus Gluteal Junction
  4. Lumbo Sacral Disorders
  5. Sacro-iliac Strain
  6. Vertebral DisordersHamstring Injuries

Other Forms of Injury

Click on the following links to find out more about other common injuries of a horse.

 

  1. Hypertonicity
  2. Trigger Points
  3. Muscle Spasms
  4. The Three Aspects of Injury
Common Horse Injuries & Treatments

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