'Hardening Tendons' using Concussional Force.

[Illusion100]

RANT WARNING!

Today I was told by a Professional that trotting on roads hardened the tendons. I should have just nodded. Nope, it irked me so I replied 'each to their own but personally I don't trot on roads if I can avoid it'.

Lecture began from Professional. Basically the reason horses have so many tendon/ligament issues nowadays is because horses aren't trotted on roads, they know this because they are up to date on the 'sciency stuff' and because this is what all the vets they work with say, as 15 yrs ago there were hardly any arenas/schools and tendon damage was pretty much unheard of because the horses had to do roadwork instead. The damage is because the arenas are soft and now experts are putting in a concrete base for arenas and SJers are now jumping on concrete to harden the tendons even more. Also the fact they apparently spent months with *world famous but recently deceased stallions breeder* seemed to cement their opinion as fact.

Apparently concussional force, stress fractures, bone remodelling (and the rate at which it occurs), collagen damage, lesions and consequences of schooling on poor quality arena surfaces is irrelevant. I was speechless.

 

[dibbin]

Wow. Do they want to bring back pin firing as well?

 

[*hic*]

It always amazes me that people don't seem to realise that virtually all arenas already have a base as hard as concrete - that's what all that crushed stone does for you.

Certainly instances of tendon damage have dramatically increased at the same time as the number of horses exercised primarily in arenas has increased.

 

[AmyMay]

Have always yrotted my horses on the road for fittening purposes, and actually avoid too much trotting in an arena.

 

[julie111]

We never had an arena when I was young, it was all roadwork for fittening then weekends show jumping.

 

[be positive]

I have always trotted on the roads, last year spending many hours walking and trotting doing rehab on 2 horses, 1 which had suffered a tendon injury when in training in a racing yard, he came back to full work and had several runs with no sign of the tendon going wrong, I put this down to all the roadwork being done before he started going on the gallops.
I do think that not enough exercise is done outside of the arena for many horses, some never go anywhere else so have no conditioning done before they are being schooled or jumped, judging by the amount of horses that seem to suffer from tendon and ligament damage nowadays there must be a link, not sure what good jumping on concrete will do but most surfaces will be hard underneath and many have been put on a tarmac base.

 

[only_me]

We have always trotted on roads for fittness. Infact I do agree that horses that spend their entire time on arenas don't get the chance to strengthen their tendons and tendon/ligament injuries are more precedent if the arena is deep.

I don't think jumps on concrete is true - jumping itself is a concussive force so the horse needs to have a reasonable fittness level before jumping. I do agree that trotting on roads hardens the tendons, but the horse needs to be used to walking on the surface first so they can adjust. Road work (walk and trotting) is an important part of fittening work - but a lot of people either choose to not do it or their roads are too busy.

I would much prefer to trot my horse on the road to harden tendons and get them fit than to put them on a walker constantly on a circle. Or do all the fitness work in an arena. Roadwork imo is a key part of fittness.

Some concussive force is good - the key is to not over do it.


My aunt was diagnosed with osteoporosis (weak bones) and was advised to do some light concussive exercise, as it hardens the bones - reason being is that by using concussion it stimulates the bone re-modelling (which happens constantly) so bone becomes denser.

 

[dominobrown]

Actually I must agree (not with jumping on concrete though) with professional. I was told by a top vet that small controlled bursts of trotting on a hard surface strengthens the legs by causing tiny minor fractures in the bone that then causes more bone to be laid down. sorry for the lack of technical terms! (trying to say what only_me has!)
Another vet and farrier, both who are very well respected both claim a lot of modern arenas are too soft causing strain through the whole limb and are detrimental to long term soundness.
The key is to work on a variety of different surfaces, none of which for too long.

 

[Goldenstar]

Have always yrotted my horses on the road for fittening purposes, and actually avoid too much trotting in an arena.

Me too
Too much time in the Arenas can be equally 'damaging ' .

 

[chocolategirl]

All I know is that all the research, and apparently there has been a lot!, shows that the best possible way to keep a horse sound, is to work it regularly on a variety of surfaces. Personally, this is exactly what I do, and so far (touches wood), it's a regime that works for me. I do however only EVER trot on roads if it's uphill, so hopefully concussion is slightly reduced, and our arena has a sand and rubber surface which even after 12 years, still never rides deep. I like to think this has been a contributory factor in there being so many 'sound' horses on our yard? I see so many horses though on my travels that never see a road and are ridden on poor arena surfaces regularly, no surprise that these horses are often off with lameness.

 

[Elf On A Shelf]

I can see where he is coming from and yes roadwork does do soft tissue good BUT it has to be in the correct doses so you don't cause other problems.

I always use racing as an example. Studies have shown that horses that go into training as yearlings/2yos are less likely to do tendon or ligament damage due to the conditioning on both soft tissue and bone at a young age. These horses are however more likely to develop joint problems later in life at a much earlier age than a normal horse would.

Compare this to a store horse that will have been left to it's own devices in a field until it is 4 or 5yo. These horses have shown that they are more likely to break down or break a bone within the first year of training as they have not had work done on the legs at an earlier age. They are softer and not as prepped for work. Later in life these horses tend to have less structural issues than flat horses.

Personally I don't like trotting on roads due to the increased risk of the horse throwing a splint due to the concussion but I will walk for hours and hours on tarmac.

 

[Pinkvboots]

I try and vary what surfaces I ride on but am not keen on fast trotting on the road had one go down and it was not nice.

 

[Illusion100]

Define 'hardening' a tendon, exactly what physiological/cellular process happens that warrants this description?

Hard surfaces affect bone in particular and bone can only remodel at a certain rate, which may lead to bony change, such as splints, and arthritic change. Connective tissue needs to be elastic, so how does roadwork benefit connective tissue?

Yes, in the case of Osteoporosis concussional exercise can certainly be beneficial, that I do not dispute.

I agree varying terrain for exercise is optimal.

 

[Illusion100]

I can see where he is coming from and yes roadwork does do soft tissue good BUT it has to be in the correct doses so you don't cause other problems.

I always use racing as an example. Studies have shown that horses that go into training as yearlings/2yos are less likely to do tendon or ligament damage due to the conditioning on both soft tissue and bone at a young age. These horses are however more likely to develop joint problems later in life at a much earlier age than a normal horse would.

Compare this to a store horse that will have been left to it's own devices in a field until it is 4 or 5yo. These horses have shown that they are more likely to break down or break a bone within the first year of training as they have not had work done on the legs at an earlier age. They are softer and not as prepped for work. Later in life these horses tend to have less structural issues than flat horses.

Personally I don't like trotting on roads due to the increased risk of the horse throwing a splint due to the concussion but I will walk for hours and hours on tarmac.

Great post! I would also do majority of roadwork happily at walk, just not at trot.

 

[Illusion100]

Actually I must agree (not with jumping on concrete though) with professional. I was told by a top vet that small controlled bursts of trotting on a hard surface strengthens the legs by causing tiny minor fractures in the bone that then causes more bone to be laid down. sorry for the lack of technical terms! (trying to say what only_me has!)
Another vet and farrier, both who are very well respected both claim a lot of modern arenas are too soft causing strain through the whole limb and are detrimental to long term soundness.
The key is to work on a variety of different surfaces, none of which for too long.

Yes, these are called 'stress fractures' and happen at a cellular level, they cause bone remodelling which is basically the process of replacing damaged bone cells with healthy ones. But how does it 'harden' tendons in a positive way?

 

[dominobrown]

I wouldn't say harden tendons, but rather tighten them, however I think this is achieved by working on a variety of different surfaces at different speeds.

 

[Mike007]

In the simplest terms ,a tendon is an inelastic rope connecting a muscle to an anchorage point on a bone. There are two main types or failure ,one involves overloading of the tendon ,when the joint in question overextends and the increased mechanical advantage puts excessive strain on the system. There is a reflex loop connecting stretch receptors in the tendon to the muscle . Increased load causes increased muscle effort. Where this system breaks down ,is when the horse is unfit or exhausted .The time for the reflex to act ,is slowed down and the joint over rotates before the horse can stop this . This often also causes ligament damage.

The second most prominent form of damage is at the point of attachment to the bone. The strength of this attachment depends to a large extent on regular ,but not excessive concussive forces which promote the strengthening of the bone. Bone is never static ,it is constantly being dissolved and reformed .

In my experience the secret of good training is to push the horse hard enough to strengthen yet not to EVER go to the point of damage. Quick fixes and crash training programmes break down horses. Any athlete will confirm that it is almost ridiculously easy to increase muscle strength (unless you get as old as me when it becomes bloody difficult)the real problem is that the tendons and ligaments take so much longer to develop and strengthen. The increased muscle strength can easily bust a tendon.The pavement pounding does in my opinion assist the strengthening of the legs . And lets not forget that the folk wisdom of not trotting too much on a hard surface ,was from the perspective of working horses in the 19th century doing a 8/10 hour shift 6 days a week pulling a cab. The "sand school warriors " of today desperately need to get out and do some real work.

 

[rara007]

I think to describe tendon as inelastic when elasticity is one of its key properties in allowing horses to move at all in an athletic way is a bit misleading.

 

[Mike007]

No ,they are not elastic.They obviously will stretch to a very minor extent ,but they are not elastic in the normal sense of the word.

 

[Illusion100]

In the simplest terms ,a tendon is an inelastic rope connecting a muscle to an anchorage point on a bone. There are two main types or failure ,one involves overloading of the tendon ,when the joint in question overextends and the increased mechanical advantage puts excessive strain on the system. There is a reflex loop connecting stretch receptors in the tendon to the muscle . Increased load causes increased muscle effort. Where this system breaks down ,is when the horse is unfit or exhausted .The time for the reflex to act ,is slowed down and the joint over rotates before the horse can stop this . This often also causes ligament damage.

The second most prominent form of damage is at the point of attachment to the bone. The strength of this attachment depends to a large extent on regular ,but not excessive concussive forces which promote the strengthening of the bone. Bone is never static ,it is constantly being dissolved and reformed .

In my experience the secret of good training is to push the horse hard enough to strengthen yet not to EVER go to the point of damage. Quick fixes and crash training programmes break down horses. Any athlete will confirm that it is almost ridiculously easy to increase muscle strength (unless you get as old as me when it becomes bloody difficult)the real problem is that the tendons and ligaments take so much longer to develop and strengthen. The increased muscle strength can easily bust a tendon.The pavement pounding does in my opinion assist the strengthening of the legs . And lets not forget that the folk wisdom of not trotting too much on a hard surface ,was from the perspective of working horses in the 19th century doing a 8/10 hour shift 6 days a week pulling a cab. The "sand school warriors " of today desperately need to get out and do some real work.

I appreciate your explanation of Biomechanics and that the origin and insertion points are usually most commonly affected. My query is Physiological so how do you harden 'an inelastic rope'?

 

[skint1]

Interesting thread. A lot of my friends trot on roads, I used to as well but have recently discovered my mare has a sizeable side bone and as I understand it, that sort of thing is not good for side bone, so when shes back in work properly we wont be doing it anymore. But I have heard exercising on varied terrain is good for horses.

 

[twiggy2]

I rehab horses with road work under all the local vets advice, I work with at least 10 vets in my local area when rehabbing and caring for horses that belong to others, what all these vets have agreed on is that a rubber surface on a school can be detrimental to tendons as it encourages over extension/flexion of the joints and therefore puts extra strain on the tendons.
also the constant turning in a school puts extra strain on the body. All my rehab has always been done out hacking road and tracks on vet advice.

my own mare is without shoes and personally I think a lump of metal on the feet is the biggest cause of concussion again this is also supported by the vets I work with.

 

[Holidays_are_coming]

I was also taught at uni that roadwork is very important in fitening horses I never used to trot my shod horses on the road unless uphill however my boy is barefoot so feel much happier trotting some distance albeit not very fast.

My local vet believes the massive increase in PSD is due to too much work on surfaces and not enough on a variety of different types of surface.

 

[khalswitz]

I think to describe tendon as inelastic when elasticity is one of its key properties in allowing horses to move at all in an athletic way is a bit misleading.

Nope, tendons have to be inelastic to work. If they were elastic, then when the muscle contracted the tendon would stretch before reaching the force required to move the bone. Not only would it be extremely inefficient in terms of energy required to move, but also would make fine movements almost physically impossible. From a biomechanics perspective, tendons HAVE to be inelastic to work.

 

[el_Snowflakes]

I'm a big fab of road work and I trot my horse on the road. Horse is 18 & never had any lameness except for once when she has an abscess & she is variety & change of scenery keep he happy

 

[racingdemon]

It's the term 'hardening' that I think is the sticking point.... To some I suspected it conjures up images of it becoming hard like bone, when actually it means becoming more resistant to challenges the horse will face, toughening might be a better word. Essentially you want the tendons to be exposed to a variety of terrains so when the horse advances through its career it has been conditioned to them, all the structures in the leg can react to different surfaces underfoot.

If you are a runner & only run on the road it then feels very strange to suddenly run on turf & vice versa,

And historically people 'mainly' got horses fit for hunting, which can include a lot of roadwork during an average day, and they didn't have arenas & certainly didn't do schooling as we do now

Personally I think one of the main concerns about trotting on roads is the concussive effect on the feet, esp in horses with less than ideal foot conformation. I trot my young horses in short straight slightly inclined stretches, I don't trot my older horses on the roads unless I have to (it's not part of their regime) but I do trot them more regularly on turf rather than a surface

 

[pennyturner]

Without being too scientific, try doing some circuit training on a soft beach, and see how your tendons feel afterwards!

My experience with barefoot horses, worked on tarmac, is that lameness is very, very rare (2-3 short-term incidents in 10 ponies over 20 years) - and even then usually caused by something specific like a leg down a rabbit hole!

 

[pennyturner]

Without being too scientific, try doing some circuit training on a soft beach, and see how your tendons feel afterwards!

My experience with barefoot horses, worked on tarmac, is that lameness is very, very rare (2-3 short-term incidents in 10 ponies over 20 years) - and even then usually caused by something specific like a leg down a rabbit hole!

 

[MrsNorris]

Many horse tendons are elastic, and elastic recoil plays a major part in horse locomotion, quote from

http://cvm.msu.edu/research/researc...ons-1/dressage-today/june-2010-dressage-today

"Tendons can be classified into two types based on their structure and function: positional tendons and elastic tendons.........
Elastic tendons have the ability to stretch and recoil when tension is applied, these tendons stretch like a piece of elastic. When the tension is reduced, the elastic tendon recoils and releases stored elastic energy. "

Plus a few more here if anyone is interested.....

http://e.guigon.free.fr/rsc/article/AlexanderRM02.pdf


http://www.igloo.lv/horses/harm/physiology_of_tendon.html

 

[stormox]

I always trot horses on roads. Especially uphill, never downhill, or a 'flat out butcher-boy' type trot, just a nice steady trot. Most people don't have access to an arena- are they meant to walk everywhere? Definitely horses should ride over differing terrains and gradients, helps their balance, fitness and co-ordination. And I do believe roadwork strengthens horses tendons if done properly.