To those within the equine industry, the occurrence of a tendon or ligament injury can be very problematic. Tendons and ligaments can be distinguished by the functions they each carry out – namely, tendons connect muscle to bone whereas ligaments connect bone to bone. These tissues must have the ability to stretch (like an elastic band) in order to allow flexibility that is required for general everyday movement. As a consequence, tendons and ligaments can be characterised as having elastic properties. It is thus easy to appreciate that an injury to either a tendon or ligament in a horse would have direct implications on the mobility of the animal.

Although it would be fair to say that such injuries are unwanted in horses used for breeding or riding, horses used within the racing industry need to be in perfect health in order to safely, and hopefully successfully, compete in races. A tendon injury is most likely to occur in the superficial digital flexor tendon which can be found in the back of the lower leg (Athletic Animals). These tendons play very important roles in the accumulation of a type of energy termed elastic energy that is generated when the horse moves (Athletic Animals), and as such the ability of horses to race with tendon injuries is impeded.

There are specific reasons as to why an injury to either the tendon or ligaments can be particularly problematic. Firstly, the recovery time for these injuries can span a number of months, and may take up to 18 months to adequately heal due to the lack of a well-developed blood supply. Secondly, even after recovery there is an increased likelihood of additional similar injuries further down the line due to regrowth of tendons with reduced elasticity, critical for racing. It is therefore very important that either the tendon or ligament is appropriately treated from the onset of injury. One way in which the appropriate treatment can be decided upon is through the use of ultrasound imaging.

Ultrasonography is one tool by which the practitioner can detect and/or visualise a tendon or ligament injury. The SonoScape S6v is equipped with a high-density linear probe that allows for high-quality equine leg and tendon scanning. Furthermore, the S6v has the ability to scan structures that can be classified as ‘soft-tissue’, such as joint fluid and collateral ligaments as well as ‘hard structures’ due to the presence of X-ray scanning. In addition, the extremely high quality linear probe (96 elements) of the Draminski iScan ultrasound machine can be used for equine tendon scanning. Finally, it should be noted that ultrasound itself (at greater power levels) may also be used as a treatment for either tendon or ligament injury. This treatment may be most beneficial between 3 weeks to 6 months after the initial injury has occurred.