Soft tissue injuries have been climbing across disciplines for the last decade. Vets see it. Trainers see it. Owners feel it in both time and cost. At the same time, more barns and showgrounds are moving to synthetic or hybrid footing, mixes with fibers, rubber, textiles, wax, or engineered blends designed to create a “perfect” ride.
But with the shift toward these modern surfaces, a pattern is emerging: horses are working harder, jumping bigger, and moving with more expression, and the rate of tendon and ligament strain keeps rising.
So the question is worth asking: Are today’s footing materials contributing to the problem?
Why Synthetic Footing Changes the Way Horses Load Soft Tissue
Synthetic surfaces are built to be consistent. They absorb shock, support lift, and create push. But that performance comes with trade-offs. Many of these footings hold the hoof longer in the stride. That means tendons stay under tension for more time, especially during takeoff and landing phases.
The footing helps the horse jump higher and move bigger, but tendons absorb the energy.
A traditional sand ring allows a certain amount of natural slide and release. Modern engineered surfaces often reduce that slide dramatically. More traction sounds like a good thing, but too much can increase soft tissue load, especially in tight turns, high-jump efforts, and repeated schooling.
The horse looks spectacular, the tendons work overtime.
The Hidden Challenge: Horses Work Differently on “Perfect” Footing
Riders love how synthetic footing feels: soft enough to absorb concussion, firm enough to push off with power. Horses feel that same push and often give bigger efforts without realizing they’re loading harder.
On synthetic surfaces, horses tend to:
Those changes increase strain on structures that already work at their limit in sport horses:
the suspensory branches, proximal suspensory, superficial flexor tendon, and deep flexor tendon.
None of this means synthetic footing is “bad.” But it does mean the stress profile is different, and horses need time to adapt.
Why Injury Rates Increase When Surfaces Change
The fastest way to strain a tendon is to change the footing suddenly and load the horse the same way. Horses conditioned on traditional sand often aren’t ready for the grip and rebound of a fiber footing, and vice versa.
When horses travel for shows, step into new arenas, or bounce between training rings and competition surfaces, the tendons are forced to adjust instantly.
That contrast is where many injuries begin. The horse feels fresh, the surface is inviting, the workload stays the same, but tendons aren't prepared for the new mechanics.
This is one of the leading reasons vets see soft tissue flare-ups immediately after show weeks.
It’s Not the Footing Alone
The real problem isn’t the surface itself, it’s how quickly horses transition between surfaces without time for gradual conditioning. Tendons adapt slowly.
A tendon conditioned on one profile of load is suddenly asked to absorb a completely different one overnight, on a new showground, under higher intensity. When that happens, fibers don’t have time to reorganize and strengthen. That’s when microstrain builds into real injury.
What Riders Can Do To Reduce Risk
The solution isn’t to avoid synthetic footing. It’s to respect the load it creates.
Give horses time to adjust, reduce intensity the first few days, use structured progression instead of assuming the horse is “ready” just because they feel great.
Support matters, too. Tendons need nutrients that help maintain fiber alignment, elasticity, and recovery as surfaces and workloads change. Horses conditioned for one type of footing are far more likely to stay sound when the internal structure is supported as much as the external plan.
Changing surfaces changes load. Tendonall helps maintain tendon structure as horses transition between training rings, show arenas, and different footing profiles, supporting soft tissue before strain becomes an injury.
The rise in soft tissue injuries isn’t caused by one single factor, but modern footing plays a role. Synthetic surfaces help horses perform at a high level, but they also increase the forces running through tendons and ligaments.
Soundness depends on how well horses adapt to those changes, not on how perfect the footing feels under saddle.
Give tendons time, structure, and support, and they’ll keep up with the workload. Ignore the differences, and they’ll tell you in ways no rider wants to hear.
Are Synthetic Footing Surfaces Increasing Soft Tissue Injuries? What Riders Need to Know
Soft tissue injuries have been climbing across disciplines for the last decade. Vets see it. Trainers see it. Owners feel it in both time and cost. At the same time, more barns and showgrounds are moving to synthetic or hybrid footing, mixes with fibers, rubber, textiles, wax, or engineered blends designed to create a “perfect” ride.
But with the shift toward these modern surfaces, a pattern is emerging: horses are working harder, jumping bigger, and moving with more expression, and the rate of tendon and ligament strain keeps rising.
So the question is worth asking: Are today’s footing materials contributing to the problem?
Why Synthetic Footing Changes the Way Horses Load Soft Tissue
Synthetic surfaces are built to be consistent. They absorb shock, support lift, and create push. But that performance comes with trade-offs. Many of these footings hold the hoof longer in the stride. That means tendons stay under tension for more time, especially during takeoff and landing phases.
The footing helps the horse jump higher and move bigger, but tendons absorb the energy.
A traditional sand ring allows a certain amount of natural slide and release. Modern engineered surfaces often reduce that slide dramatically. More traction sounds like a good thing, but too much can increase soft tissue load, especially in tight turns, high-jump efforts, and repeated schooling.
The horse looks spectacular, the tendons work overtime.
The Hidden Challenge: Horses Work Differently on “Perfect” Footing
Riders love how synthetic footing feels: soft enough to absorb concussion, firm enough to push off with power. Horses feel that same push and often give bigger efforts without realizing they’re loading harder.
On synthetic surfaces, horses tend to:
Sit deeper behind.
Push harder off the ground.
Land with less slide.
Turn with more traction than nature intended.
Those changes increase strain on structures that already work at their limit in sport horses:
the suspensory branches, proximal suspensory, superficial flexor tendon, and deep flexor tendon.
None of this means synthetic footing is “bad.” But it does mean the stress profile is different, and horses need time to adapt.
Why Injury Rates Increase When Surfaces Change
The fastest way to strain a tendon is to change the footing suddenly and load the horse the same way. Horses conditioned on traditional sand often aren’t ready for the grip and rebound of a fiber footing, and vice versa.
When horses travel for shows, step into new arenas, or bounce between training rings and competition surfaces, the tendons are forced to adjust instantly.
That contrast is where many injuries begin. The horse feels fresh, the surface is inviting, the workload stays the same, but tendons aren't prepared for the new mechanics.
This is one of the leading reasons vets see soft tissue flare-ups immediately after show weeks.
It’s Not the Footing Alone
The real problem isn’t the surface itself, it’s how quickly horses transition between surfaces without time for gradual conditioning. Tendons adapt slowly.
A tendon conditioned on one profile of load is suddenly asked to absorb a completely different one overnight, on a new showground, under higher intensity. When that happens, fibers don’t have time to reorganize and strengthen. That’s when microstrain builds into real injury.
What Riders Can Do To Reduce Risk
The solution isn’t to avoid synthetic footing. It’s to respect the load it creates.
Give horses time to adjust, reduce intensity the first few days, use structured progression instead of assuming the horse is “ready” just because they feel great.
Support matters, too. Tendons need nutrients that help maintain fiber alignment, elasticity, and recovery as surfaces and workloads change. Horses conditioned for one type of footing are far more likely to stay sound when the internal structure is supported as much as the external plan.
Changing surfaces changes load. Tendonall helps maintain tendon structure as horses transition between training rings, show arenas, and different footing profiles, supporting soft tissue before strain becomes an injury.
The rise in soft tissue injuries isn’t caused by one single factor, but modern footing plays a role. Synthetic surfaces help horses perform at a high level, but they also increase the forces running through tendons and ligaments.
Soundness depends on how well horses adapt to those changes, not on how perfect the footing feels under saddle.
Give tendons time, structure, and support, and they’ll keep up with the workload. Ignore the differences, and they’ll tell you in ways no rider wants to hear.