Bowed Tendons:
Flexor Tendinitis (Tendonitis) and Tenosynovitis of Horses
  by Robert N. Oglesby DVM

A horse's legs function much like pogo sticks. Even when standing still, a horse's legs are sprung under tension with the springs being analgous to the flexor tendons, their associated muscles, and the suspensory ligaments. Stand back and watch your horse as someone presses strongly down on their withers: the fetlocks bob up and down. These springs are necessary for a horse to be able to move efficiently. Kinetic energy is given up with every step and without these springs the energy would be lost to the ground and the horse would have to regenerate this energy with each step. The flexor unit and suspensories stores this energy during increasing weight bearing and then returns it as the horse moves off the leg. A horse's flexor tendons are prone to injury from over-stretching. This article discusses tendon anatomy and function and how injury occurs then goes on to symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation, and prognosis.

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