Bowed Tendon - Prognosis of Tendinitis in Horses

Prognosis of Tendinitis in Horses

The prognosis for return to full work depends on:

• The damage to the tendon: if there was not obvious disruption of the tendon fibers, or if the damage was minimal and healed quickly and completely, the horse has a better prognosis for returning to full work.

• The treatment used: horses with moderate or severe tendinitis have a better prognosis if managed conservatively (rested, brought back to work slowly), with about 50-60 percent returning to training. If they undergo surgery and are rehabilitated correctly, up to 70-80 percent return to full work.

• Use of the horse: horses that are used for athletic events that strain their tendons (eventing, racing) are less likely to return to their previous level of performance than those in less strenuous work (dressage, pleasure and trail riding).

• New treatments developed by VetCell Bioscience Ltd. and Vet-Stem involve the use of autologous mesenchymal stem cells to regenerate torn tendons.

The best way to ensure that an injured horse returns to full work is to rehabilitate the animal correctly. This includes slowly bringing the horse back into training, and giving the horse light exercise each day as the tendon is healing. An impatient trainer who rushes to bring the horse back to intense training is likely to cause re-injury of the tendon.