Successful recovery from musculoskeletal injury is frequently multifactorial and relies on an appreciation of how the injury impacts not just the specific region of the body affected, but also the interaction of this change in function and the consequences this has on the horse as a whole. An accurate diagnosis and correct management of the initial injury should be supported by a complete assessment of the horse and creation of a rehabilitation plan specific to the individual.

In human orthopaedics and sports medicine fields rehabilitation techniques are used prior to surgery, in the immediate post-operative or post-injury phase and throughout the recovery period to increase the quality of healing of the injured structure, maintain core strength and fitness and to provide supplementary pain relief where required.

Cases that may benefit from rehabilitative techniques include those undergoing poor performance or lameness evaluation, orthopaedic or trauma surgery, or cases requiring prolonged time out of work. In addition to targeted physical therapy, acupuncture, kinesiotape application, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) and neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES), laser therapy, proprioceptive training methods and protocols for underwater treadmill use in the rehabilitating patient are available and can be incorporated into the tailored program designed for the individual patient.