• Water treadmill exercise has gained popularity for equine athletes' training and rehabilitation. In 2019, an equine hydrotherapy working group was formed to establish best practices in using this modality.
• The guidelines describe the potential benefits, good practice, introduction of horses, factors influencing belt speed, water depth, and duration of exercise, and monitoring movement on the water treadmill.
• The long-term goal is to reach a consensus on the optimal use of the modality within training or rehabilitation programs.
• Collaboration between clinicians, researchers, and experienced users is needed to develop research programs and guidelines for specific veterinary conditions.

• Equine Rehabilitation: A scoping review of the literature on physical therapy methods and modalities used to rehabilitate horses with locomotor disorders.

• Methods: A search of electronic databases, reference lists, and other sources using keywords related to equine rehabilitation and physical therapy. Studies were selected and charted according to inclusion and exclusion criteria.

• Results: A total of 49 studies were included, mostly narrative reviews and observational/descriptive studies. The most frequently reported techniques were exercise, electrotherapy, and hydrotherapy. Few randomized clinical trials were found.

• Conclusion: The review highlights the lack of evidence-based studies and the need for more information on the type, parameterization, and outcomes of equine rehabilitation in clinical practice.

• The paper is an original research article that reports the results of an international survey on the use of rehabilitation modalities in horses.

• The survey was distributed to over 2,000 equine veterinarians from various groups and associations, and received 305 responses from over 10 geographic regions.

• The paper describes the common modalities used by respondents for different medical scenarios, such as tendon or ligament injury, neck or back injury, poor performance, etc.

• The paper also discusses the personnel involved in administering the modalities, and the factors influencing their selection and application.

• The paper concludes that a wide range of modalities are used in equine rehabilitation, and that further investigation on their efficacy and risks is needed.

Coll, J.A., Blake, S. & Ferro de Godoy, R. (2023) Surface electromyography (sEMG) of equine core muscles and kinematics of lumbo-sacral joint during core strengthening exercises. Journal of Equine Rehabilitation. 1, 100002. doi:10.1016/j.eqre.2023.100002.

• Dynamic Mobilisation Exercises (DME) and myotatic reflex exercises were developed to improve core strengthening in horses.
• DME has been shown to increase the cross sectional area and symmetry of multifidus muscle, as well as activate external oblique abdominal and superficial descending pelvic muscles.
• This study aimed to measure activity differences in m. longissimus dorsi and m. rectus abdominus (RA) during three levels of spinal flexion and lateral bending, as well as comparing thoracic and pelvic lift exercises in nine adult sport horses.
• Results showed that spinal flexion and lateral bending activate m. rectus abdominis (RA) progressively as the exercise requires further reach, with a lateral bending effect evident on the ipsilateral side of RA.
• Pelvic lifts generated the greatest flexion of the lumbo-sacral (LS) joint.

• The multifidus muscle, a key component of the multifidi muscle, has been under-researched in the field of equine sports medicine.
• A study using in-dwelling electromyography (EMG) was conducted to measure and compare the average and peak activity of the multifidus muscle in normal horses.
• The researchers hypothesized that trotting horses on a soft deformable surface would increase both average and peak activity compared to trotting on a non-deformable asphalt surface.
• The EMG signals from four horses were filtered and normalized to the maximum observed signals. The effect of two surface conditions on the average and peak muscle activity within each muscle section was assessed using unpaired t-tests.
• The results showed that average muscle activity was significantly higher when trotting over a soft surface compared to a hard asphalt surface in the right T12, right L5, and left L5 regions. Peak activity was significantly higher on soft footing in the left T18, left L5, right T12, and right L5 regions.
• Thus, the softer surface induced higher levels of muscle activity in most multifidi locations.

• This study aimed to identify occupational injury frequency among equine physiotherapists and investigate the relationship between injury rate and knowledge of learning theory (LT).
• An online survey received 64 valid responses, with 51 being qualified veterinary physiotherapists working with equines. The mean injury frequency was 0.59 ± 1 per year, with 36 respondents reporting at least one injury during their career.
• There was a moderate negative correlation between career length and injury frequency. The most common site of injury for practitioners was the lower limb, and the most common type of injury was bruising.
• Knowledge of LT was poor, with only 21 respondents scoring 3/9 or higher on scenario-based application of LT and 24 achieving a grade of 6/10 or higher on theoretical knowledge. There was a moderate positive correlation between theoretical knowledge scores and self-evaluation of LT terminology scores.
• The study highlights a trend of high injury rates and low levels of understanding of equine learning, indicating the urgent need for research into better prevention and safety-enhancing strategies.