The horse industry in Iowa is growing faster than ever before. From activities surrounding horse breeding, showing, racing, housing, training, riding and care, it employs more than 2,100 people and accounts for millions in revenue each year. The economic impact from horse breeding and owning is doing much to support our state’s ag-centric economy, and we need you to play an important part in making this message heard.
After creating a training regimen that provides support for the racehorse's cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, energetics, biomechanics, thermoregulation, and nutrition the speed and endurance required to compete in a racing can still result in unplanned and unforeseen injuries. Twelve hundred pounds of racehorse impacts the ground with tremendous concussive forces during the gallop where one leg at a time hits the ground. The joints of the lower limb, particularly the fetlock joints, hyperextend on impact to the point where the distal ankle can touch the ground (Berkland, 2020).
