HORSE SENSE: Surfaces, shoes and success 14 August 2015 Premium

USE PAPER CODESIGN IN

14 August 2015

Leanne O'Sullivan on 14 Aug 2015

HORSE SENSE: Surfaces, shoes and success

The surfaces a horse trains, works and competes on play a crucial role both in enhancing or limiting the horse’s ability to perform and in determining the risk of injury

Leanne O'Sullivan

14 August 2015

A horse should train on a variety of surfaces to condition the musculoskeletal tissues for higher intensity exercise on a competition surface.

The surfaces used most commonly in training arenas by dressage riders in the UK are sand and rubber, sand, woodchip, and sand and PVC

Training and competing on dramatically different surfaces may negatively impact performance and may be associated with injury

A nervous, tense horse may well increase the intensity of load on their body compared to a relaxed horse

Hard surfaces have been found to increase the likelihood of bone and joint-related injury

Performance and soundness are key factors in an equine athlete, regardless of whether the horse is used for sport, work or leisure.

The trainer’s ability to keep a horse sound, while working at the desired level of performance, depends on a complex interaction between the horse and the environment. Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) has published the world’s most extensive and up-to-date study into the effect of surfaces on the orthopaedic health of sport horses and racehorses. The research paper is titled The Equine Surfaces White Paper (ESWP).