Page 89 - Barrel Stallion Register 2023

EQUINE HEALTH
JOINT INJURIES
In Barrrrel Racers by Heather Smith Thomas
Athletic horses in strenuous careers injuries in barrel racers are in the front
often suffer injuries, and some injuries
tend to be specific to their activities. For instance, barrel racing horses may suffer different injuries than jumpers, cutting horses or race horses.
Ryan Carpenter, DVM (Equine Medical Center, Cypress, California) says equine athletes are just like human athletes in being prone to certain types of injuries. “For instance, a basketball player might be more at risk for something different than a football player or
a rugby player, or a person running track or cross-country. There are certain characteristic occupational injuries when it comes to equine athletes. The old saying states, ‘common things occur commonly’ and this is very true,” he says.
Dr. Duncan Peters (co-owner of East- West Equine Sports Medicine LLC, Lexington, Kentucky, a private practice focused on diagnosis and treatment of equine lameness, poor performance and overall management of the sport horse for optimum performance) says the most common joint
ankles (fetlock joints) and hocks. “These joints take the most strain. In the front ankles we sometimes see acute joint injuries and little chip fragments, just because these horses hyperextend those joints and put so much force into stopping and turning around the barrels,” he says.
“We also see sprains in ankle joints, and over time we also see arthritis in these joints,” Peters continued. “This would include bone spurs around the edges of the joints.
“The hock is another place we see joint problems in barrel horses, especially in the lower joints of the hock. These joints are stressed during twisting and torque on the leg during turns and stops. Those horses really set down and then rotate on the hocks, and the lower joints take the brunt of that load. These joints are good at handling high load/low motion action but unfortunately, they do get sore. With these horses we try to make sure the shoeing is very good to put the least stress on the leg as it twists.
Above, acute joint injuries and chip fragments are common because the joints are stressed during turns and stops.
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