Basic Sciences Bldg. 2001 S. Lincoln Ave. By Linda March Information Specialist University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine If you have participated in contact sports, you know there is a risk of injury involved in the game. The harder you play, the more likely it is you could be hurt, but if you really enjoy the game, you go for it.
Horses are competitive by nature.
Equine athletes, like their human counterparts, are also susceptible to injury. The breakdown may not be severe enough to cause euthanasia, but it usually ends the horse's racing career. Most breakdown problems occur in the lower portion of the leg, the area comparable to the human foot. Muscles have been replaced by tendons and ligaments in the horse leg. The horse's weight and the speed of racing add to the likelihood of fracturing bone or tearing ligaments or tendons.