Why My Horse Finally Became (and Stayed) Sound: Physics, Biology, and a Missing Piece
For a long time, I approached soundness the way most of us do—conditioning plans, diagnostics, good farrier work, maintenance therapies, and rehab when something broke.
It wasn’t until managing a lingering knee issue in my own horse that I finally stepped back and recognized what we all know but don’t always fully apply:
Soundness failures aren’t just anatomy problems—they’re the result of force pathways, repeated over time.
In other words, injuries aren’t bad luck—they’re physics, acting on biology.
Equine Injuries Boil Down to Two Internal Forces
Compression is the vertical load driven into a joint at impact. When a horse isn’t moving straight, that load is no longer evenly distributed the way nature intended—it concentrates on one side of the joint surface. Over time, repeated asymmetric compression overwhelms the cartilage matrix and stresses the bone beneath it, contributing to bruising, micro-damage, or fragmentation.
Shear is rotational or opposing directional force—the sliding friction inside a joint capsule and the torque experienced by stabilizing structures like ligaments and tendons. Just as with compression, repeated shear disrupts cartilage cell health and irritates or strains connective tissue fibers.
Both forces are amplified by everyday training volume, speed work, surface variation, and skeletal imbalance. The result is cumulative and progressive: cartilage thins, dehydrates, and loses the microscopic collagen framework that gives it tensile strength and elasticity.
The Countermeasure We All Know (But Often Underuse)
Straightness, balance, and postural symmetry diffuse damaging force.
Through classical systems like the Training Scale and the methods behind Classical Dressage, we see a consistent formula for durability:
- Alignment so compression travels vertically through joints
- Engagement to shift load toward the hindquarters
- Core stability and symmetry to reduce torque and shear
- Stabilized soft tissue that better resists opposing directional pulls
Organized horses absorb force efficiently. Crooked horses absorb it unevenly—and are the ones that eventually break under it.
Biology Explains the Recovery
Collagen is the internal scaffold that allows cartilage to regenerate.
Articular cartilage relies heavily on Type II collagen for strength, elasticity, and structural cohesion. When cartilage erodes, the body isn’t just repairing tissue—it’s rebuilding an extracellular matrix that is predominantly collagen-based.
Supplemental collagen provides the primary amino acid precursors (glycine, proline, and hydroxyproline) which support:
- Chondrocyte signaling toward regeneration
- Improved shock-damping capacity in the cartilage matrix
- Increased elasticity and tensile strength in healing tissues
- Stronger connective tissue fibers in ligaments and tendons
- Reduced inflammation secondary to matrix breakdown
It isn’t a replacement for proper rehab—but it supplies the raw materials that make rehab actually work.
The Most Compelling Data Point? The Horse Himself
My horse had a knee chip removed as a juvenile. Despite careful post-surgical management, he carried mild, persistent joint pressure for over a year. It never escalated, but it never fully resolved either.
Roughly a year after surgery, after studying collagen outcomes in human osteoarthritis models, I started him on OptiWize with a structured loading protocol.
Within 30 days, the chronic knee pressure he had carried for over a year resolved completely—no heat, no fluid, no guarding. His knee felt cool, tight, and normal again.
Through two subsequent seasons of intense race training—combining postural alignment work, heart-rate-guided intervals, and dressage-based symmetry exercises—he remained sound, cold, tight, and injury-free. No setbacks. No recurring inflammation. No secondary strains. No compensatory soreness.
His soundness held under the very conditions that normally wear horses down: galloping, shipping, seasonal progressions, and varying surfaces.
For me, that real-world, reproducible outcome in my own horse was the most meaningful dataset of all.
The Trifecta That’s Repeatable
- Training strengthens bones and tendons.
- Straightness and balance protect joints.
- Collagen equips them to repair.
If your horse shows any of these:
- Repeated need for joint injections
- Crookedness or asymmetry under saddle
- Chronic low-grade joint pressure
- Connective tissue vulnerability (including poor hoof quality or gut issues)
Consider moving beyond maintenance and toward true structural joint optimization:
Train the posture. Manage the load. Feed the tissue.
I made OptiWize part of my protocol after my horse validated it—clearly and unmistakably.
If you’d like to try it, use my code JESSIE10 at checkout for a discount.
Give it a solid 30-day trial, track the changes, and let your horse show you the data.
I’d genuinely love to hear your results—feel free to drop me a message!
