On Lameness & Back Problems In People & Horses

Some 10 years ago a horse landed heavily on my left foot causing injury to the ligaments. This, and a fracture to the left leg sustained during a bad football tackle nearly 35 years ago, have contributed to a tendon problem in my lower left leg and current lameness, from which I am recovering. Now I know how horses feel ! These foot and leg injuries have in their turn exacerbated a back problem, mainly due to conformation and poor posture in my youth, for which, very occasionally (ie once in perhaps 5 years), I have to take a day or so's box rest. Psychosomatic factors may also have some role in all this.

I mention these "problems" because they show how in people and, indeed, horses, there can be a deep-seated and long term relationship between injuries, ailments and inherited conditions. Incidentally, horses can also feel unhappy and depressed, states of mind which can contribute to "unsoundness". Fortunately, I am able to manage the symptoms and, to a certain extent, the underlying causes of my physical and mental health, and look forward to being back in medium work by next week. Medium fitness, in both people and horses, is, in my opinion relatively easy to sustain, something which should always be kept in mind by the horseperson.

The "soundness" of horses used for hunting can be particularly problematic, where inadequate fittening has occurred after rest/light work in Summer, or, indeed, between outings. Several years ago, I accompanied some people to view a lovely mare with a fine jump who had, it transpired, been used rather intermittently, and sometimes very hard, by her teenage owner. This horse was quite unfit in early Autumn, struggling to sustain a canter but clearly an exceptionally willing mount. The vet would not pass her as sound, although passed another horse for the same people, which turned out to have major fore feet and lower leg problems.

The second animal was described as a "Sports Horse", a description which should, I would suggest, always spell a measure of danger for the unseasoned rider and would-be owner. The chances are that such animals have been developed overfast and competed prematurely, often without commensurate underlying fitness (a product of the right care and exercise). People should remember that conditions developed, and injuries sustained, in youth or some years previously require careful and long-term management in horses, as in themselves. Developing skills in this regard is an essential attribute of the true horseperson.