AUBURN, Ala. – Through the rigors of sport, injuries happen even to the best of athletes. At Auburn, student-athletes are provided a wealth of avenues to prevent and treat injuries throughout their time on the Plains through the hard work of athletic trainers and sport physicians.
The same goes for the four-legged athletes of the Auburn equestrian team.
Many years spent practicing and competing also takes its toll on the beloved horses on the team like Charles and Ducati, Hannah and Como. And the treatment of these important athletes has become a vital part of the team's success.
"All of the horses donated to our program are retired show horses that have a little bit left in them," Auburn head equestrian coach Greg Williams said. "Some of them come in here with injuries and others come in prone to injuries because of their age. It is extremely important that we monitor and work with them and that is where our relationship with the College of Veterinary Medicine comes in."
Williams and Dr. Jennifer Taintor, current professor and resident at the College of Veterinary Medicine, formed an important relationship long before the Auburn equestrian team earned varsity status.
"I worked at the horse unit as an undergrad in the '90s and stayed in touch with Greg after I left school," Dr. Taintor said. "When I came back, the team was at the varsity level. I kind of stepped in and became the vet for the team and that was the beginning of a very long relationship between athletics and the vet school."
As the team continued to rise in collegiate equestrian, so did the pressure of making sure the horses on the squad were in the best shape possible. It became apparent that the health of the horses assisted in the success of the team.
"As the workload became more for both the team and horses, I knew it was time to encourage Dr. Boone to get involved," Dr. Taintor said. "She stepped in to provide health care when it comes to musculoskeletal disease and came up with the idea of an elective for current vet school students."
Though that new relationship, Dr. Lindsey Boone established an elective lameness lab for her students. It is a two-week program that runs in the fall semester and again in the spring semester, holding eight students apiece.
"I really wanted to establish an opportunity for our students to take the pressure out of the equation when they are learning to do a lameness evaluation," Dr. Boone said. "With the relationship we have with the equestrian team, our students are able to work with the coach and barn manager and they can really focus on what is going on with the horse.
"They are allowed to make that exam their own and if they find a lameness, at mine and Dr. Taintor's discretion, they are responsible for doing the treatment of those horses," Dr. Boone added. "There is so much repetition throughout the lab that this is a great opportunity for them to grow and work in a team environment. They are discussing amongst their colleagues and are gaining strong technical skills that not only help them but help the equestrian team as well."
The students work to determine what kind of musculoskeletal dysfunction, or lameness, is going on whether it is bone, soft tissue like a tendon or ligament, or even muscle. From there, it is about safely treating the horse and helping it return to full strength.
"The goal is to figure out what the source of pain for that lameness is," Dr. Taintor said. "Once the students go through the process to determine the lameness, we then work with them on determining the treatment options available."
Not only are the students learning how to treat an animal that can weigh well over 1,000 pounds, but they are also learning how to deal with the different personalities in each horse.
"The students are given a horse and they have to quickly figure out what their personality is like," Dr. Taintor said. "They learn really quick that some are lazy, some are easygoing, some don't like needles and others need to be walked in a straight line to calm them down. Our students learn that since they are responsible for the horse's treatment, they have to handle them and adjust to their personalities."
Through this collaboration, vet school students have also become a successful part of a championship program. Providing services to the horses' health has played a major role in the success of the other Tiger athletes and a sense of pride is felt on all sides of the spectrum.
"It is so neat because over the course of two weeks, our students also get to work with the student-athletes because they are the ones working and training the horses the most," Dr. Boone said. "Knowing they have a part in making those horses ready for competition gives our students a big sense of pride. They love Auburn and love being a part of the success the team has had."
This solid relationship that started almost 30 years ago between athletics and the vet school continues to grow and it's this relationship that will not only assist in the success in competition, but also provide top-notch educational opportunities to one of the nation's best veterinary programs.
"The entire coaching and support staff has been very supportive of what we're trying to do with this rotation," Dr. Taintor said. "They understand teaching and the importance of this lab for not just their horses, but for the school as well. The staff has created a great learning atmosphere for us and it's been awesome."
"This program has helped so much with the maintenance of our four-legged athletes," Williams said. "The students get them ready in the beginning of the season in the fall and have them ready when it's crunch time right before postseason in the spring. This relationship between the two programs has been great since the beginning and we're excited to see how it continues to grow into the future."