Tendon injuries in sport horses require extended rehabilitation programmes and emerging regenerative therapies to maximize healing quality and reduce reinjury risk.
Tendon injury causes significant pain and enforced immobility that are welfare challenges in themselves. The prolonged rehabilitation required means horses spend extended periods in stall rest, which carries its own psychological and physical welfare costs. Managing the mental wellbeing of horses during long rehabilitation — through controlled hand-walking, social contact, and appropriate enrichment — is an important but often neglected component of recovery.