10/10/2025
Techniques to reduce risks of soundness issues in performance horses.
Soundness is critical to the success of our competition horses. It is critical that these athletes remain pain free and moving to the best of their ability. While there are techniques and husbandry habits that encourage a long career, not all lameness issues can be prevented. What follows will be a brief summary of ways that owners can reduce the risk of injury and development of chronic lameness sources for performance horses. This is not a complete guide and should not be taken as medical advice. Always consult with your veterinarian about your specific needs and equines.
All competition horses will at some point experience soundness issues. Some of these will be the result of injuries, some the result of strain from repetitive use. The number one thing we can do as an owner to reduce rate of injuries, soft tissue strain and number of soundness issues is to maintain quality hoof care. Soundness issues often can be contributed to issues with the limbs. While conformation is important to the longevity of a performance horse, we cannot alter conformation. Quality hoof care is key to maintaining good leverage reduction and limb support through work. Hoof care is one of the areas that we have the most control and ability to make adjustments. It is easy for us to alter leverage, protection, tendon tension and traction through the use of various hoof devices and trim protocols. Because of the vast array of options that exist in hoof care, it is also important to employ a professional that is familiar with the standards and needs of your discipline. A reining horse would not be shod or trimmed the same as a hunter jumper. Every discipline has different demands for traction and leverage. So, employing a professional that is experienced with the demands and needs of your discipline can help to improve the longevity of your performance animal. A high number of soft tissue injuries are the result of too much leverage, often due to overdue hoof care or the wrong hoof device being employed. Leverage in the lower limb created by the hoof ground interaction can be source of osteoarthritis, tendon tears, and ligament tears. It is important especially on the thoracic hooves to limit toe leverage at all stages of life. By providing your horse with quality, discipline appropriate hoof care, you are taking a major step towards improving the overall comfort and future soundness of your athlete.
Hoof care might be the number one reason we see lameness issues. The second most common reason is soft tissue issues in the performance horse population. Soft tissue injuries account for a large number of our high caliber performance horse lameness issues especially speed event horses. We suspect based on observations, experience, and results of physical therapy that most higher caliber performance horses end up with soft tissues injuries because of improper conditioning. It is common for a performance horse to be worked in their discipline but not trained in a balanced manner. This is especially true for speed events like roping and barrel racing. These horses are often not conditioned to work beyond 1min or balanced from left to right. Fatigue injuries are common in these disciplines. Cross training can help the animal to become more balanced and have better endurance. Animals with proper conditioning are less likely to suffer from ligament damage because muscles and tendons will also aid in stabilization of joints during motion. If an animal is primarily worked in one direction the outside will often become weaker and if forced to make a quick movement in that direction injury is probable. Cross training between disciplines can improve the mental health of the animal, encourage more balanced muscle development, and reduce soft tissue injury risks. Just like with our human athletes proper conditioning is huge factor in performance, longevity, and even post work recovery. That post work recovery is also a critical part of conditioning, good conditioning will reduce this time but recovery time is necessary. Muscles and other tissues require time to heal after strenuous work, this can be supported with a variety of paraprofessional services like massage, water therapies, etc. Good, balanced conditioning will help to reduce the time that the body needs to recover. An animal might be condition to make one run, then need 2 days to recover but only given a day because of event schedule… there is significant risk of injury during that 2nd or subsequent runs because not conditioned properly and the soft tissues have not had adequate time to recover. Good solid conditioning will help to support the longevity of the athletic animal and reduce soft tissue injuries. It takes time to properly condition an animal for any athletic discipline; this means that it would be impossible to train and condition an extremely young horse to go out a perform at the levels we often ask of them without an increased risk of injury. Taking the time to condition a young horse can be huge to increasing the longevity of their performance career. Old or young, an improper conditioned horse has a much higher risk of injury.
Nutrition can play a role in supporting our performance horses as well. While we can only feed to what their genetics allow them to be, we can support their recovery by providing quality nutrition that meets their needs. Performance horses are often in increased work and demand higher energy inputs along with more nutrients to repair and rebuild tissue. It is important to maintain them at an appropriate body condition though, horses with a 4-5 body condition score are less prone to lameness issues than those at a 7 and up. The extra weight of the higher body condition scores will cause more strain on the joints during any athletic event. That additional strain will contribute to formation of osteoarthritis in the joints of the carpus, hock and even lower leg joints. It can also increase the strain on tendons during high-speed loading. So, it is important to provide these horses with the needed nutritional demands but to not try feed a genetically 1000lb horse into a 1200lb disaster.
Finally, not all things that can reduce the risk of performance issues are directed at the horse. There are things that the rider can do to help the horse maintain its soundness. Riders can be knowledgeable about their discipline and seek professional assistance to improve their skills. They can work on their balance, clarity of their communication with the horse and overall skill level. It is important that the rider rides both within their skill level as well as the animal’s skill level. Injuries can be sustained when a rider asks for skills beyond the ability of the animal. It is critical to take the time and introduce new skills or increase speed during training, not during competition. It is also important to understand the necessary tact and equipment for your discipline and to properly outfit the animal. Things like splint boots can be the difference between a sound 10yr career and a fractured splint resulting in surgery with months of recovery time. It is never wrong to ask for professional assistance.
Unfortunately, there is no way that we can prevent every cause of soundness issues with our performance horses. There will always be a risk of traumatic injuries, and the nature of athletic endeavors is it asks a lot of the body. We have ways that we can reduce risk of issues and improve their careers. The key ways available to aid our equine athletes include quality discipline appropriate hoof care, proper conditioning with cross training, supportive nutrition, and mindful personal knowledge and skill training. Through these few things we can help to ensure that our equine athletes have a reduced risk of performance issues and with that longer careers.
This does not substitute for medical advice. All animals and all concerns with them should be addressed with your veterinarian. This is meant to be a guide only, always consult with your veterinarian and professional support team for best care.
Dr J Alltop, DVM APF-II
San Pedro Veterinary Service 2025
