Customer Reviews

Howell Equine Handbook of Tendon and Ligament Injuries (Howell Equestrian Library)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The following book review was published in Horse & Rider magazine, November 2004.

Title: Howell Equine Handbook of Tendon & Ligament Injuries

Author: Linda B. Schultz, DVM, PhD

Reviewed by: Karen E.N. Hayes, DVM, MS

If you find vet speak about tendon and ligament injuries to be clear as mud, this book is a must-have. In addition to being thorough, accurate, and concise, it's written in layman's language without being "dumbed down"-it's targeted for the well-informed, interested, and intelligent horse owner.

Perhaps most importantly, if you read this book you'll understand not only how to partner with your veterinarian in treating tendon and ligament injuries that might afflict your horse, but also how to help your horse avoid these potentially career-ending mishaps by using proper warm-ups and conditioning, being mindful of the impact of various footings, and understanding how shoeing can support or threaten tendons and ligaments.

Although the bulk of the book is aimed at explaining the various therapies, from cold-water "hydrotherapy" to surgery to alternative treatments, you'll come away with enough knowledge to carry on a spirited conversation with an equine orthopedics specialist without even breaking a sweat. This could come in handy if you're ever in a situation where two or three vets disagree on the best treatment for your horse's injury (and believe me, that's a common scenario).

It's a surprisingly easy read, and the photographs and drawings really help to clarify this vital subject that usually causes even the staunchest horseman to get glassy-eyed.

You won't find this caliber of information in most general horse-care books, and unless your horse never carries anything heavier than cowbirds on his back, its information you really can't afford to miss.

This little book packs a punch when it comes to explaining what tendon and ligament injuries are in the horse. It covers everything from anatomy, diagnosis, and treatment of horse injuries. One nice thing is that it also covers complementary medicine and also presents some nice case studies. A great book.

An easy reading up-top-date guide on tendon and ligament injuries in the horse. The book covers the basics of what researchers know about how and why injuries occur, prevention strategies, and therapy including non-traditional therapies. It includes a sample work-out chart for your recuperating horse, something I haven't seen in any other book. The book also stresses the importance of having a good working relationship with your veterinarian and how to work effectively with him/her. All in all, it's a great book for the horse owner looking for all of the essential information needed to care for their horse's tendon and ligament injuries. I highly recommend this five start book.

Found this book very basis, mostly common knowledge among horsepeople. Would be a good book for the first time horse owner, otherwise not very helpful.

Linda Schultz has written the best book on equine tendon and ligament injuries I've ever read. It is a well documented trade paperback that helps the owner perform a preliminary diagnosis of potential injuries and understand the nature and cause of the injuries and their treatment. She even helps you evaluate your own veterinarian and suggests when you may want to find another one. The book is illustrated with photos and drawings and down to earth advice, including the importance of the art of the farrier, what's important, what's not, and alternative therapies. A genuine five star book.

This is really an excellent book for a novice to find out about what's going on with their horse's legs. You can sit down and read about the things people are telling you but you don't understand, like when my friend's horse had to be kept in a stall for six months. It seemed like torture, but once she read this book, she understood what the ligaments looked like when they were torn and why it was so important not to let the horse out in the pasture. There are lots of photos and drawings so you know what the author is talking about.

The following review was released by The Appaloosa Journal Online, Oct. 2004

Title: Howell Equine Handbook of Tendon & Ligament Injuries

Reviewed by: Jennie Archer, AJ Editorial Assistant

If you need a guide to tendon and ligament injuries that outlines the basics of how legs work, how they get injured and how they're treated, this is an excellent guide. A sensible and unbiased source, this book can be a handy reference if your horse has just been diagnosed with an injury.

It outlines exactly what has happened to the anatomy, how long it usually takes to recover, the most common treatments and other treatment options available too. The book is a handy reference and has important information that any educated horseperson should know.

I am really startled that 9 out of 12 people gave this book a 5-star rating. It reads much more like a pamphlet than a book and, if I had to guess, I'd say the author wrote it in a couple of afternoons off the top of her head. Lameness in horses is a huge topic and it deserves substantial consideration, not a mishmash of whatever happened to pop into a vet's head at the time she was at the typewriter.

I would instead recommend "Lameness: Recognizing and Treating the Horse's Most Common Ailment," which I purchased immediately after realizing that the Howell book was so lacking. It's a few bucks more and has about 10 times the information.

This book is very, very basic. I bought it because I thought it would go into more depth and cover more topics. It skims the surface and nothing more. I was disappointed by it.

This little book is packed full of all the information you may want to know about horse's tendons and ligaments. As well as delving into injuries as per the book title, it also explains the structure, mechanics and function of the tendons and ligaments in relation to the rest of the anatomy. There are good chapters on common injuries, diagnosis and treatment, as well as prevention and rehabilitation strategies.

There are several case studies, discussion about peripheral topics such as travelling boots and bandages and an excellent chapter devoted to the equine foot, where the relative merits and perils of different hoof angles and shoeing techniques.