tip of the week

Week of January 21, 2001

When treating a horse with sore shins, always address soreness in the back and hip musculature. He may be over-using these muscles in an effort to protect the front legs. When a horse must maintain muscle tension to support and protect an injured area as well as use the muscles in locomotion, they quickly become fatigued. This leads to soreness and guarding muscle tension.

Also, do not overlook the flexor muscles of the front legs, the two layers of the flexor digitorum. These muscles have been held in tension to help absorb shock to the front of the lower legs. Often the front leg flexor muscles of young horses in training are very tight and sore and benefit from equine therapy and stretching. We use Equi-Light photon therapy on the muscle belly or run electrical stimulation from BL13 to TH1 for effective pain treatment. Therapeutic ultrasound helps relieve muscle spasm.


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