For many of us who compete with our horses, regardless of which discipline we compete in, fall is the time of year to seek the advice of our equine practitioners regarding any maintenance that will have our horses ready for competition next season. While many of us compete throughout the year, some of us are less active during the winter months. If your horse is still going to be used through the fall, it becomes even more important to properly maintain him as the season can often take its toll by then.

Certain injuries seem to occur with regularity in our equine athletes. While many of these problems are relatively minor, some are more serious. Regardless of the severity of the problem, all competition horses require maintenance. During the period of heaviest competition, it is often difficult to schedule proper maintenance.

Injury to the joints is probably the area of most importance with regard to maintenance. The injury may be minor, such as bruising or straining, or more serious, such as chip fractures or degenerative joint disease. Many of these athletes can compete for years with pre-existing problems–if they are properly maintained. Some of these injuries might be best treated with intra-articular therapy (injection into a joint), while others might need only rest. Regardless of the therapy required, now is the time to do it.

Injury certainly is not confined to the joints, as the soft tissue structures are very often involved. During the times of heaviest competition, we seldom have the luxury of time off for rest, so other maintenance is necessary