TENDONS are elastic, rope-like structures that attach the horse’s muscles to the bones. I find they are best imagined as a bundle of elastic fibres joined together to make something like a bungee cord.

The job of the tendons is to transfer the force of muscle contraction to create movement of the skeleton. They also act as shock absorbers, lengthening under strain, most vitally in the limbs of a horse during high-speed movement. Most tendons are short and rarely damaged. However, the long tendons of the digital flexor tendons are occasionally injured in racehorses training and performing at a high athletic level.