Tendon injuries are common in performance horses and require prolonged rehabilitation, with welfare considerations spanning pain management, confinement stress, and return to work.
Horse tendon injuries impose welfare costs in multiple dimensions. Acute injury causes pain that requires management, but the prolonged rehabilitation period imposes its own welfare challenges through confinement. Horses kept in box rest for months often develop frustration, abnormal repetitive behaviors, and reduced psychological wellbeing from restricted movement and social isolation. The gradual rehabilitation program protects physical healing but must be balanced against behavioral needs through appropriate turnout management, social contact, and enrichment. Horses that reinjure tendons face repeated cycles of pain and confinement. Responsible rehabilitation requires attending to both the physical injury and the behavioral and psychological wellbeing of the animal throughout the recovery period.