Knowledge
Equine Chiropractor
Matt Kenna is a fully qualified veterinary and sports chiropractor working with elite athletes and their horses. He is currently working providing consultancy to premiership football teams, high goal players and treats horses across all levels of polo from low goal to high goal. Based between Guards and Cowdray, he travels all over the south of England.
The Equine Leg
Prehabilitation is the best rehabilitation
Matt performing class iv laser therapy to a 95 per cent tear of the DDF tendon – managed in conjunction with the vet a very important point
We all dread it; the tendon injury, ligament damage, a muscle tear, however, such issues are part and parcel of managing and looking after performance horses. Tendon injuries, under veterinary management include two to three months box rest and then an integrated return to activity to load the tissue properly. In the middle of the season, having your best horse go down with one is not only inconvenient but also comes with huge emotional conflict, for us and the horse. When trying to understand the equine legs, it is important to know that the hind limb and the forelimb have very different ways of attaching themselves to the axial skeleton 50
Polo Times, November 2021
(main body) on the horse. The hind limb is attached through bones and joints, the hip joint to be precise, which is the top of the femur forming a relationship with the ilium, which is a part of the pelvis. The forelimb however isn’t attached in the same way. The shoulder joint (glenohumeral joint), is a relationship between the top of the humerus and the scapula, the latter of which has no boney attachment to the body, it is held in place by muscles and ligaments alone. The equine leg upon visual inspection, is strikingly thin in diameter when comparing it to the rest of the horse’s body. This allows for it to be light and aerodynamic, a key
feature in a flight animal, which equates to speed when running away. Although helpful for this purpose, it comes with its disadvantages. As the horse goes through the different gait cycles and speed increases, so does the load through each limb. At a walk, around half the horses total body weight goes through each limb, so roughly 250kg when thinking of a polo pony (assuming 500kg total body weight). When speeding up a little to trot, this increases to full body weight through each limb, due to the four-beat nature of the gait pattern. However, when looking at canter, this increases to 2.5 times body weight going through each limb, around 1.25 tonnes and will increase again for gallop. Throw into that the ballistic power, stopping and turning and flat out pace required in a chukka and you can really start to see what our incredible four legged athletes go through for us. This really highlights the need for correct exercise programming and diet. An additional 100kg in bodyweight can equate to 250kg of extra weight through each limb, so contacting Lorna at Baileys to get your horse nutrition right is a great idea! Striking a balance between proper musculature and healthy weight is key. By no means should this mean horses ‘should be run light’ as the saying goes, but do be conscious of keeping them cautiously on the heavy side. My favourite definition of injury is; failure of a tissue (muscle, ligament, tendon or cartilage) to adapt to the load. Adaptation is key and doesn’t come quickly. Whilst cardiovascular fitness (heart and lung health) comes relatively quickly, soft tissues such as muscles, tendons, ligaments and cartilage adapt to training at a much slower rate. It is my belief that many horses are rushed back into work and lack a variety in their work in the lead up to a season. Things like road work and hill work; up/down, forwards/backwards, are key pieces of advice I offer to clients. Concussion (the force going through the hoof, bone and tendons) will not cause damage; if light and increased at a gentle rate, it will actually strengthen the tissues, increasing collagen lay down. Variation, actual rest, recuperation (easier days) and well-timed programming will all help tissue to adapt and decrease the likelihood of injury, hence why it’s called ‘pre-habiliation’; www.polotimes.co.uk
