Innholdsfortegnelse for H&R Monthly - November 2023 i Horse & Rider

To become the trustworthy, reliable, and dependable trail horse you count on in the backcountry, your horse has to be used. In the process, he’ll rack up some scrapes, bumps, and cosmetic issues. A few cosmetic issues are OK, but when you’re in the market to buy a trail horse, you need him to be more than reliable. You need him to be sound. Here I’ll explain common health-history, appearance, and movement issues that can indicate future soundness issues that could influence your horse’s usability on the trail. With each soundness consideration, I’ll give you the green light to go ahead, yellow to proceed with caution, and red light—which you know means don’t go further with the horse purchase. These clues will help you buy with confidence, ensuring that your…

Joints equal movement, and movement equals athletic performance. In fact, when it comes right down to it, muscles, tendons, and ligaments—all of the critical structures in your horse’s musculoskeletal system—are simply there to help joints move. When joints move freely and smoothly, your horse does, too. And when they don’t, troubles begin. What’s The Scoop? Estimates say that 60 percent of all lameness is due to osteoarthritis. It’s defined by joint disease expert Dr. Wayne McIlwraith of Colorado State University as a “progressive deterioration of the articular cartilage accompanied by changes in the bone and soft tissues of the joint.” That’s why there’s so much attention paid to discovering new techniques for accurately diagnosing and effectively treating joint disease. In this article, we’re going to take an up-close look at…