Omneity® Pellets
All-In-One Vitamin & Mineral Pellet
Topic:Joint Health
Joint health in horses involves the study of anatomical structures such as cartilage, synovial fluid, ligaments, and bones that contribute to the function and mobility of equine joints. Research in this area focuses on understanding the physiology of equine joints, the mechanisms of joint disorders, and the effects of wear and tear over time. Common joint issues in horses include osteoarthritis, synovitis, and joint effusion, which can impact performance and quality of life. Diagnostic techniques often involve imaging, synovial fluid analysis, and clinical evaluation to assess joint condition. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the anatomy, pathology, diagnostics, and therapeutic approaches related to joint health in horses.
Effect of intra-articular gentamicin sulfate on normal equine synovial membrane. Gentamicin sulfate (3 ml; 50 mg/ml) was administered intra-articularly into 30 normal equine radiocarpal joints after arthrocentesis. Arthrocentesis alone was performed on 10 normal radiocarpal joints. Synovial fluid evaluations and gross and microscopic examinations were performed on synovial fluid and synovial membrane of designated joints at selected daily intervals over a period of 10 days. Synovial fluid from gentamicin-injected joints had greater turbidity, higher RBC and WBC counts, and higher refractive indices than did joints not injected with gentamicin. The largest increases develop...
Arthroscopic anatomy of the intercarpal and radiocarpal joints of the horse. Arthroscopic anatomy of the equine intercarpal and radiocarpal joints was documented in six cadaver limbs and on observations made during surgical treatment of horses with carpal osteochondral fractures. Instrument positions and arthroscopic visualisation were recorded. The cadaver limbs were dissected and iatrogenic lesions recorded. A single arthroscopic portal examination was adequate in both joints; however, a second arthroscopic portal improved visualisation. The intercarpal joint was more easily examined than the radiocarpal joint because of anatomical differences. Iatrogenic lesions wer...
Changes in the synovia after the intra-articular injection of sodium hyaluronate into normal horse joints and after arthrotomy and experimental cartilage damage. Sodium hyaluronate was injected into normal horse joints and joints that had undergone an arthrotomy and experimental cartilage damage. The elimination half-life for hyaluronic acid in normal joints was found to be approximately 96 h. The injection caused a non-significant increase (42%) in synovial fluid protein concentration and a fall in the intrinsic viscosity of the fluid. In the arthrotomy group the synovial fluid hyaluronic acid concentration fell after surgery but it was unaffected by the injection of sodium hyaluronate. An initial rise in the intrinsic viscosity of the synovial fluid ...
Musculoskeletal disorders in neonatal foals. Angular limb deformities are not uncommon in foals. Mild angular deviation due to laxity of supporting soft tissues often resolves spontaneously. However, external splinting or casting may be needed in severe cases or in those that do not resolve. When incomplete ossification of carpal or tarsal bones is the cause of the limb deformity, external support is mandatory to prevent further deformation and abnormal development of the bones. When epiphyseal and metaphyseal abnormalities cause axial deviation, surgical intervention is usually necessary. Circumferential periosteal transection and/or tr...
Bilateral degenerative coxofemoral joint disease in a foal. Bilateral degenerative coxofemoral joint disease and noninflammatory osteonecrosis in the femoral heads were diagnosed in a 5-month-old Standardbred colt. Cytologic evaluation and bacterial cultures of coxofemoral synovial fluid, and radiographic and pathologic examination of the coxofemoral joints were conducted. The cause was not determined; however, a thrombus found in association with 1 focus of osteonecrosis was suspected as an etiologic factor.
Arthrodesis of the pastern joint in the horse. Arthrodesis of the pastern joint was performed in six horses with a history of acute trauma and in 10 horses with a history of chronic lameness of one to six months duration. Five surgical techniques were employed: curettage of the joint, lag screw compression and immobilisation in a plaster cast; curettage, compression using a T plate and immobilisation; drilling, lag screw compression and immobilisation; lag screw compression and immobilisation; and curettage and immobilisation. Pre- and postoperative clinical course are described together with significant radiographical findings. The best r...
Oxygen radical production by horse and pig neutrophils induced by a range of crystals. The exposure of animal neutrophils to crystals implicated in joint inflammation induces superoxide and peroxide generation in a concentration and temperature dependent fashion. Active crystals were urate, hydroxyapatite, pyrophosphate and brushite; diamond and cholesterol were inactive. Cytochalasin B increased superoxide yield after addition of brushite, and inhibitors of the PMA induced respiratory burst blocked the crystal induced response. Addition of urate to anaerobic neutrophils causes the reduction of a b-type cytochrome, a likely component of the neutrophil superoxide generating syste...
Spavin: a proposed term for a non-fracture associated canine hock lesion. In accordance with macroscopic and microscopic features of the tarsal joint degeneration in the greyhound dog, the possibility of establishing a direct relation between this process and spavin or bone spavin is proposed. To date this has been considered limited to equine and occasionally bovine stock. This investigation has been carried out on three different levels: macroscopic, radiological and histological and has been completed with the corresponding graphic documentation.
Septic arthritis of the distal interphalangeal joint after neurectomy in a mare. Fracture of the lateral wing of the third phalanx with secondary infection of the distal interphalangeal joint occurred in a neurectomized mare. Puncture of the sole may have been the inciting cause, emphasizing the need for careful daily foot care in neurectomized horses.
Vestibular syndrome associated with temporohyoid joint fusion and temporal bone fracture in three horses. Acute onset of vestibulocochlear and facial nerve dysfunction due to a stress fracture of the petrous part of the temporal bone was diagnosed in 3 horses. The fracture was secondary to chronic inflammatory changes in the petrous part of the temporal bone and the proximal stylohyoid bone, with fusion of the temporohyoid joint. Bacterial meningoencephalitis was a complicating factor. Treatment resulted in reduction of severity of clinical signs in 2 of the 3 cases, but residual compensated vestibular deficits persisted.
Radiological investigations of osteochondrosis dissecans in Standardbred Trotters and Swedish Warmblood horses. A total of 106 Standardbred Trotters and 27 Swedish Warmblood horses, with a radiological diagnosis of osteochondrosis dissecans, were studied over a six year period. The majority were young horses. No statistical difference in frequency between the sexes was demonstrated. In both breeds osteochondrosis was most common in the hock joints, the site of predilection being the distal dorsal tip of the intermediate tibial ridge. On radiographs the lesions of the hock joints were graded on a scale from 0 to 5 according to size, number and localisation of defects and visible loose bodies. The sizes o...
Relationship between intervertebral joint morphology and mobility in the equine thoracolumbar spine. The anatomical features of 21 equine thoracolumbar spines, obtained from horses with clinically normal backs, were examined and the results compared with recent data on the mobility of the joint complexes of the horse's spine. The thoracolumbar spine can be divided into four regions based upon the morphology of the joint complexes: the first thoracic intervertebral joint (T1-2), the cranial and mid thoracic region (T2-T16), the caudal thoracic and lumbar region (T16-L6) and the lumbosacral joint. The mobility of the intervertebral joints in each of these regions can be related to their morphol...
Midsagittal intraarticular fracture of the third phalanx in a colt. A 6-month-old Quarter Horse colt, with severe left foreleg lameness of 6 weeks' duration, had swelling of the distal interphalangeal joint and a smaller-than-normal left front foot. Radiographs revealed a nondisplaced, midsagittal, intraarticular fracture of P3, which was treated with an eggbar shoe with 2 quarter clips, and stall rest for 10 weeks. The colt was sound after 10 weeks.
[Roentgenological aspects of polyarthritis in foals]. Radiographically, joint ill in foals is subdivided into four different types: Type P - osteomyelitis in the meta- and/or epiphysis adjacent to the physis. Type E - osteomyelitis in the epiphyseal subchondral bone. Type S - synovitis confined to the joint itself. Type T - osteomyelitis in the small tarsal bones. The radiographical features corresponding with the different types, the relationship between the radiological, pathological, bacterial and clinical findings, and the recommended radiographic procedure are discussed in detail.
Intra-articular corticosteroid- and exercise-induced arthropathy in a horse. Methylprednisolone acetate was injected repeatedly into both intercarpal joints of a horse that had a 3rd carpal bone fracture in 1 limb. Synovial fluid from intercarpal and radiocarpal joints of both limbs were obtained serially for study. Arthropathy developed in the fractured joint following prolonged corticosteroid therapy and exercise. In the corticosteroid-injected normal joint, the hyaluronic acid concentration initially decreased, then increased. A depletion in cartilage matrix was seen at necropsy, 175 days after onset of treatment. Determination of total protein content in synovial f...
The geometry of the cruciate ligaments in the canine and equine knee joint, a Tchebychev mechanism. The ratio between the length of the anterior and posterior cruciate ligaments and the distance between their femoral and tibial attachments in the canine and equine knee joint reveals that these structures form a Tchebychev mechanism for parallel motion.
Hyaluronic acid concentration in synovial fluid from normal and arthritic joints of horses. A method previously described was used to determine the hyaluronic acid concentration in synovia from normal and arthritic horse joints. The concentration of hyaluronic acid in the synovia from arthritic joints was found to be significantly lower than the concentration in fluid from normal joints.
Experiences in diagnostic and surgical arthroscopy in the horse. This paper reviews the current status of diagnostic and surgical arthroscopy in the horse. Arthroscopy has been used as a diagnostic aid since 1974 and is useful for evaluation of abnormalities in synovial membrane and articular cartilage. Surgical arthroscopy is a more recent advance that has replaced conventional arthrotomy in 90 per cent of the author's cases. Clinical conditions currently being treated using arthroscopic techniques rather than arthrotomy include all chip fractures in the carpus, chip fractures of the first phalanx, chronic proliferative synovitis in the fetlock and osteoch...
The use of equine anti-endotoxin hyperimmune serum in the treatment of septic arthritis in foals. Three thoroughbred foals were treated with anti-endotoxin hyperimmune serum. The serum was injected into the affected joint spaces. Two of the foals made a complete recovery.
A retrospective clinical study of osteochondrosis dissecans in 21 horses. Osteochondrosis dissecans was diagnosed clinically and radiographically in 31 joints of 21 horses. The horses ranged in age from 8 months to 5 years at the time of presentation. The usual age of onset of clinical signs was 18 to 24 months. Presenting complaints included joint effusion and lameness of either gradual or sudden onset. In Thoroughbred horses, the stifle joint was the most common site of lesions and in Standardbred horses lesions occurred more commonly in the hock. In 16 of the 21 horses, the contralateral joint was radiographed and 9 of these horses had bilateral lesions. Thorough...
An in vitro study on joint fitting and cartilage thickness in the radiocarpal joint of foals. The change in the degree of fitting of the opposing articular cartilage surfaces of the radiocarpal joint of foals was studied in vitro using a pneumatic loading device. The thickness of the articular cartilage of the distal radius was examined using radiographic and histological techniques. The thickest cartilage corresponded with the approximate centre of the contact area of the opposing articular surface. The variations in articular cartilage contact area and thickness are discussed.
