Topic:Developmental Orthopedic Diseases
Developmental Orthopedic Diseases (DOD) encompass a range of musculoskeletal disorders that occur in growing horses. These conditions primarily affect the joints, bones, and cartilage, and are often seen in young horses during periods of rapid growth. Common types of DOD include osteochondrosis, physitis, and angular limb deformities. Factors contributing to these disorders may include genetics, nutrition, and environmental influences. DOD can impact the long-term soundness and performance of horses. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the etiology, diagnosis, and management of developmental orthopedic diseases in equine populations.
Incidence of disease, injury and death in Thoroughbred foals and yearlings on stud farms in the UK and Ireland. Up-to-date estimates of early-life morbidity and mortality in Thoroughbreds are lacking. Methods: A birth cohort was established on Thoroughbred stud farms across the UK and Ireland. All veterinary interventions for disease or injury between birth and 18 months of age or leaving the study were recorded. Multilevel Poisson regression models with farm and foal as random effects were fitted to estimate incidence rates. Results: Data were available for 3328 foal-months at risk for 275 foals on seven farms. The overall rates of disease and injury requiring veterinary intervention and mortality were...
Influence of juvenile osteochondral conditions on racing performance in Thoroughbreds born in Normandy. The relationship between osteoarticular status and future athletic capacity is commonly accepted in equine practice, but there is little to support this belief in Thoroughbreds. The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of juvenile osteochondral conditions (JOCC) in Thoroughbred yearlings and to investigate the significance of these with regard to subsequent racing performance. The radiographic files from 328 Thoroughbred yearlings born in Normandy were assessed in a consistent manner and entered into a database together with racing records. Logistic regression models were used ...
Medical implications of obesity in horses–lessons for human obesity. There is growing recognition that obesity is common and represents a significant detriment to the health of companion animals in a manner similar to that by which it is affecting the human population. As is the case for other species, obesity appears to promote insulin resistance in horses and it is through this pathophysiological process that many of the adverse medical consequences of obesity are being characterized. Equine medical conditions that have been described in the context of obesity and insulin resistance differ from those in humans. Chronic human conditions that have been attribut...
Animal nutrition and acid-base balance. In domestic animals, acid-base balance may be influenced by nutrition. The major research effort in this area has been made on the prevention of hypocalcemic postparturient paresis in dairy cows. This disorder is caused by the sudden increase of calcium secretion into the colostrum. The manipulation of the dietary cation-anion difference makes it possible to maintain the cows in metabolic acidosis during the critical period that precedes calving, presumably via a mechanism that involves the strong ion difference in the extracellular fluid. As a consequence the mobilization of calcium is enhanc...