Corner A
By Judy Wardrope The Bowed Tendon
ccording to Dr. James R. Rooney DVM, a foremost authority on lameness, a bowed tendon is “a tearing of the superficial flexor
tendon, more often of the foreleg but, occasionally, of the hindleg. The majority of such tears occur in the middle third of the tendon, about halfway between the carpus and the fetlock.” When imagining an injury to the superficial
flexor tendon, which is an integral part of the suspensory apparatus and operates as both a form of support and a form of shock absorption, Dr. Rooney suggests an analogy: “Fasten each end of a piece of string to a block of wood and jerk the blocks apart, tightening the string quickly. Do this repeatedly and the string will fray and break somewhere in the middle third.”
Signs and Symptoms Signs of a bowed tendon or the development of one, aside from the visual appearance of the leg and a potential limp, are: pain on pressure over the back of the middle third of the metacarpal region, obvious heat and mushy swelling in the area.
Who is at Risk? Dr. Rooney observed that horses working at speed (racing, jumping, polo, etc.) are more at risk than horses that are not. Further, he mentioned that in the ‘old days’ when horses worked at the walk and the trot, the bowed tendon was not such a common injury. He also refers to fatigue (muscular as well as repetitive strain) as a contributing factor. Structurally, horses that are heavy on the
forehand are more prone to damage of the forelegs, including bowed tendons. Photo 1 shows a horse that is heavy on the forehand with a bowed tendon on the right front and a torn suspensory ligament on the left front. And those that have a pillar of support emerging rearward of the rear quarter of the hoof are also more at risk, especially if asked to work at speed or to jump, where the trajectory when landing further increases the risk.
1 80 March/April 2017 Despite being light on the forehand, the horse in
photos 2 and 3 sustained a career-ending tendon injury (announced as a bowed tendon) in 2009 at the age of 14. Notice that his pillar of support
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Conformation
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