Equine athletes push their bodies to the limit, and even minor lameness can mean the difference between peak performance and time off. Understanding lameness, its causes, and advanced treatment options is crucial for keeping your horse competition-ready.
Understanding Equine Lameness
Lameness causes an abnormal, painful gait that affects performance and mobility. It can be caused by a variety of factors, including injuries, infections, or even chronic degenerative issues.
The symptoms of lameness in equine athletes include limping, stiffness, a reluctance to walk or move, and an unwillingness to engage in activities that require mobility. Other indications are an uneven stance, a shortened stride, or even a noticeable head bob.
Key Causes of Lameness in Equine Athletes
Several factors can cause lameness in horses, including trauma to the horse’s legs or hooves, inflammation, or even age-related degenerative changes. Nutrition, obesity, and horse care can also be a contributing factor. Other potential causes include tendon or ligament injuries, muscle imbalances, arthritis, or hock or fetlock injuries.
Identifying what triggers lameness is essential for diagnosing and treating the condition, particularly for equine athletes, where training and competition vary greatly depending on the sport. A sports medicine specialist will understand the demands of each discipline for a more accurate diagnosis and treatment plan.
Advanced Diagnostics: Identifying Lameness with Precision
At Cave Creek Equine™ Sports Medicine & Surgery, our specialized veterinarians evaluate and treat lameness daily. For high-performance horses, subtle lameness can indicate underlying issues. Diagnostics including flexion tests, nerve blocks, and advanced imaging, allow early intervention, preventing long-term damage.
Because lameness symptoms may range from subtle to extreme, the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) developed a lameness grading system.
This grading system helps improve communication between the veterinarian and horse owner regarding the diagnosis and improvement of the horse during treatment.
Every horse is unique. A thorough exam will determine where your horse is on the Lameness Scale.
Here’s what you can expect during a lameness evaluation at Cave Creek Equine™ Sports Medicine & Surgery:
- Listening & Observation: We start by discussing your observations and examining your horse’s movement at rest, walk, trot, or under saddle.
- Hands-On Examination: We palpate tendons, ligaments, and joints and perform flexion tests to pinpoint areas of discomfort.
- Testing: Using targeted anesthetics, we isolate the exact location of lameness by observing changes in your horse’s gait.
- Advanced Imaging: Our advanced imaging provides precise diagnosis of even the most difficult lameness issues.
Effective Treatment Strategies for Lameness in Sport Horses
Equine lameness can be treated with a variety of methods, including rest, medication, rehabilitation, corrective shoeing, regenerative therapy, and in some cases, surgery. Each equine athlete is unique, so we provide personalized care to get your horse back to peak performance.
We are firm believers in regenerative therapies, where applicable, minimizing invasive treatment. Regenerative therapies like PRP and stem cell therapy accelerate healing and reduce downtime. Combined with rehabilitation techniques such as controlled exercise programs, these treatments help restore soundness more effectively.
In some cases, surgery may be required. For example, arthroscopy is a minimally invasive surgical technique that allows skilled equine surgeons to assess and treat joints, tendon sheaths and bursae through small portals. Fractures and traumatic foot wounds may also require surgery.
Case Study: Diagnosing & Treating a Meniscus Tear
This is a 15-year-old, quarter-horse, gelding with a 3-day history of acute onset right hind lameness. At the time of the initial injury, he was toe-touching lame on the right hind, but at the time of examination, he was 3.5/5 lame.
Examination revealed a large effusion (increased fluid within the joint) of the femoropatellar and medial femorotibial joints (two joints of the stifle). An upper limb flexion test on the right hind produced severe pain.
X-Ray
Ultrasound
MRI
Digital X-rays were taken of the right stifle but showed only a small osteophyte (bone spur) on the femur. Based on the advanced imaging, we recommended arthroscopic surgery, followed by regenerative therapy and rehabilitation.
Proactive Strategies to Prevent Lameness in Equine Athletes
Lameness is painful for the equine athlete and can interrupt training and competition. Prevention is always better than treatment.
Ask any professional athlete what’s important to keep them in the game, and they will tell you that nutrition, a proper training program and rest schedule, the right equipment, and their sports medicine team are all critical to their health and success.
Equine athletes have very similar needs:
- Nutrition: A healthy diet, supplements, and proper hydration are the foundation for keeping your equine athlete healthy.
- Proper Shoeing: Working with a farrier that will work with your veterinarian for the best fit, because every athlete is unique.
- Stall Care: A deep bed of straw or wood shavings on hard-packed dirt for proper footing and adequate rest.
- Training: Warm up and cool down those muscles. Be sure to include rest in the training schedule.
- Daily Self Check: Any changes in stride, performance, or stamina should trigger a visit with your veterinarian.
- Regular Vet Visits: Finding and correcting an imbalance before it becomes a problem is the goal.
If you notice any changes in your equine athlete’s performance or stamina, please see your veterinarian immediately.
Expert Care for Equine Athletes: Schedule an Evaluation Today
We know you want the best for your horse so we’ve equipped our center with the latest diagnostic and imaging tools and have highly skilled, double-board certified equine vets focused on your horse’s well-being. We specialize in providing a thorough and systematic approach to equine lameness and other potential performance limiting problems.
We treat your horse as if it’s our own. Cave Creek Equine™ Sports Medicine & Surgery focuses on getting you an accurate diagnosis quickly, saving you time and money, and most important, saving your horse from pain.
Keep your equine athlete in peak condition. Schedule a consultation with our lameness specialists today.
623-581-5508
Edited March 2025
