Game of bones

BONE is a substance that changes throughout life, in a process called remodelling. This allows the bones of foals and young horses to grow and change shape, and in adult horses enables the repair of damage and prevents bones from becoming brittle.

The amount of remodelling is affected by the horse’s age, the type of exercise he does and the surface on which he works. Research in thoroughbreds discovered that if horses undergo controlled exercise early in life, the bone “learns” to model in a way that protects it from injury in later