The musculoskeletal system in horses encompasses the bones, muscles, tendons, ligaments, and joints that facilitate movement and provide structural support. This system is essential for locomotion, athletic performance, and overall health in equine species. The equine skeleton consists of approximately 205 bones, which are connected by joints and supported by a network of muscles and connective tissues. Tendons connect muscles to bones, while ligaments link bones to other bones, contributing to joint stability. The musculoskeletal system is subject to various conditions, including injuries, degenerative diseases, and developmental disorders, which can impact a horse's mobility and performance. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the anatomy, physiology, pathology, and treatment of musculoskeletal conditions in horses.
Malekipour F, Whitton RC, Lee PV.This review synthesizes recent advancements in understanding subchondral bone (SCB) biomechanics using computed tomography (CT) and micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) imaging in large animal models, particularly horses. Results: Recent studies highlight the complexity of SCB biomechanics, revealing variability in density, microstructure, and biomechanical properties across the depth of SCB from the joint surface, as well as at different joint locations. Early SCB abnormalities have been identified as predictive markers for both osteoarthritis (OA) and stress fractures. The development of sta...
Tranquille CA, Chojnacka K, Murray RC.There has been little investigation into the health patterns of the eventing horse population outside veterinary clinics. To target health problems in the eventing horse population, it is important to determine the relative impact of different health problems. The objectives were to describe the prevalence and patterns of lameness/illness in registered British eventing horses. An online survey was released for all horses registered with British eventing in 2018. Data were collated and descriptive analyses undertaken. A total of 1677 surveys were completed, among which 49.4% reported a previous...
Caure S, Dendauw P, Thesee L, Villedey E, Malinvaud A, Cousty M, Prie V, Horan K, Weller R.There is a paucity of scientific data on the effect of shoeing on equine neck and back kinematics during locomotion over commonly used sand training surfaces. A better appreciation of how alterations at hoof-ground interface influence equine upper body movements is relevant for improving horse's health and performance. Our objectives were to determine the effects of different shoeing conditions on equine neck and back kinematics at walk and trot in straight line over sand. Two-dimensional kinematic video analysis was performed under seven shoeing conditions: front feet shod with aluminum shoes...
White JM, Hibner-Szaltys M, Duz M, Withers JM, Marcatili M.To determine the influence of breed (cob [CB] and non-cob [NC]), obturator type and surgical experience on the number of attempts, time taken and iatrogenic damage (ID) created when entering the digital flexor tendon sheath (DFTS) tenoscopically. Methods: Prospective experimental cadaveric study. Methods: A total of 104 cadaver limbs. Methods: An equal number of randomly selected CB and NC limbs were operated using a conical obturator (OB) or a switching stick (SS) by one boarded (BS) and one resident surgeon (RS). Skin measurements, number of attempts and time taken to enter the DFTS were rec...
Stigson H, Klingegård M.Equestrian sports, also referred to as equestrianism, is practiced all over the world and a popular leisure activity in Sweden. Equestrianism is the country's second-largest youth sport, and previous studies indicate that accidents are common in equestrianism. However, few previous studies have examined acute equestrian injuries leading to permanent medical impairment (PMI). Methods: By using nationwide insurance data comprising all injured equestrians registered in the Swedish Equestrian Federation, the aim was to analyse characteristics of equestrian accidents and particularly injuries leadi...
Hanousek K, Fiske-Jackson A, O'Leary L, Smith RKW.In vivo measurement of limb stiffness and conformation provides a non-invasive proxy assessment of superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT) and suspensory ligament (SL) function. Here, we compared it in fore and hindlimbs and after injury. Objective: To compare the limb stiffness and conformation in forelimbs and hindlimbs, changes with age, and following injury to the SDFT and SL. Methods: Retrospective cohort study. Methods: Limb stiffness was calculated using floor scales and an electrogoniometer taped to the dorsal fetlock. The fetlock angle and weight were simultaneously recorded five tim...
Ferlini Agne G, Adamson K, McGlinchey L, Kravchuk O, Santos L, Schumacher J.Accuracy of a median nerve block is normally assessed by testing skin sensitivity on the medial and dorsal aspects of fetlock and pastern. The present study evaluated subjective and objective analysis of skin surface temperature obtained with two different infrared (IR) thermography cameras (a high-end [FLIR P640] and a smartphone IR thermography device [FLIR One®]) before and after anaesthesia of the median nerve. Thermographic images were obtained at 0, 30, 60 and 90 minutes after performing a median nerve block with 2% mepivacaine hydrochloride. The subjective analysis of thermographic ima...
Spriet M, Vandenberghe F.Scintigraphy and Positron Emission Tomography (PET) are both nuclear medicine imaging techniques, providing functional information of the imaged areas. Scintigraphy is a two-dimensional projected imaging technique that was introduced in equine imaging in the late 1970s. Scintigraphy allows imaging of large body parts and can cover multiple areas, remaining the only technique commonly used in horses for whole body imaging. PET is a cross-sectional imaging technique, first used in horses in 2015, allowing higher resolution three-dimensional functional imaging of the equine distal limb. This manu...
Damone J, Bass L, Gadomski B, Rao S, Frank C, Moorman VJ.The equine digital cushion (DC) has been a poorly understood structure regarding its mechanical properties and composition. The objective of this study was to develop a sampling technique and to compare the biomechanical and histologic properties of DC between lame and non-lame forelimbs. Both forefeet from horses with induced carpal lameness were radiographed prior to humane euthanasia. Radiographs were used to guide sample collection of two, post-mortem, midline DC samples, palmar and dorsal, via an 8mm biopsy punch. Samples were subjected to compressive testing to determine elastic modulus....
Amari M, Rabbogliatti V, Ravasio G, Auletta L, Brioschi FA, Riccaboni P, Dell'Aere S, Roccabianca P.Radiofrequency (RF) relieves chronic pain in humans, but it is unexplored in horses affected by chronic lameness. This study aims to describe the technique and the histological effects of ultrasound (US)-guided radiofrequency ablation (RFA) of palmar digital nerves (PDNs) in horse's fetlock and pastern, . Unassigned: After assessing the US anatomy of lateral and medial PDNs in fetlock and pastern ( = 10 horses; 20 forelimbs), US-guided RFA was performed on these sites in cadaveric forelimbs ( = 10) applying four different settings with increasing invasiveness ( = 40 total treatmen...
Carmona JU, Carmona-Ramírez LH, López C.(1) Background: There is increasing interest in the use of platelet-rich plasma and related orthobiologics for the treatment of chronic musculoskeletal disorders in horses; however, there is no information on the bibliometric impact of the literature published in this area. (2) Methods: A bibliometric analysis was performed using the bibliometrix R package by analyzing the documents registered in the WOS and Scopus databases from 2000 to 2024. The included registers were evaluated according to the menu of results from the biblioshiny web app (overview, sources, authors, documents, words, trend...
Dyson S, Quiney L, Phillips K, Zheng S, Aleman M.Radiological observations at the cervicothoracic junction in horses with or without related clinical signs have not been comprehensively described. The aim was to evaluate the seventh cervical (C7) to second thoracic (T2) vertebrae in horses with neck-related clinical signs (neck pain and/or stiffness, neck-related forelimb lameness, or general proprioceptive [spinal] ataxia) and control horses. This prospective analytical cross-sectional study included 127 control horses and 96 cases, examined using standardized clinical and radiological protocols. Univariable logistic regression was used to ...
Nankervis K, Tranquille C, Tacey J, Deckers I, MacKechnie-Guire R, Walker V, Hopkins E, Newton R, Murray R.Repeated exposure to water treadmill (WT) exercise could elicit kinematic responses reflecting adaptation to WT exercise. The study's aim was to compare the responses of a group of sport horses to a standardised WT exercise test (WTSET) carried out at three time points, week 0 (n = 48), week 20 (n = 38), and week 40 (n = 29), throughout a normal training programme incorporating WT exercise. Horses were recruited from the existing client populations of two commercial water treadmill venues for the purpose of this longitudinal, observational study. Limb, back, poll, wither, and pelvic kinematics...
Graham-Thiers PM, Bowen LK.Twelve horses weighing 570 ± 35 kg were split into two groups (standard protein, STD, and balanced protein, BAL) to evaluate the effect of balanced vs. unbalanced protein on muscle mass. Groups were fed grass hay and a 12% CP feed (one formulated for balanced protein). Horses were out of work for 14 wk prior and participated in 1 to 2 h of light-to-moderate exercise 5 d/wk for 12 wk. A 4-d total urine and feces collection period was conducted at the start and end of the study. Urine and feces samples were analyzed for nitrogen (N) to calculate N balance. Muscle mass status was evalua...
Irandoust S, O'Neil LM, Stevenson CM, Franseen FM, Ramzan PHL, Powell SE, Brounts SH, Loeber SJ, Ergun DL, Whitton RC, Henak CR, Muir P.Catastrophic injury has a low incidence but leads to the death of many Thoroughbred racehorses. Objective: To determine sensitivity, specificity, and reliability for third metacarpal condylar stress fracture risk assessment from digital radiographs (DR) and standing computed tomography (sCT). Methods: Controlled ex vivo experiment. Methods: A blinded set of metacarpophalangeal joint DR and sCT images were prepared from 31 Thoroughbreds. Four observers evaluated the condyles and parasagittal grooves (PSG) of the third metacarpal bone for the extent of dense bone and lucency/fissure and assigned...
de Souza AF, Pereira CAM, Fürst A, Kümmerle JM, De Zoppa ALDV.The implantation of unicortical cortex screws in the proximal hole of locking compression plates (LCP) has been recommended for proximal interphalangeal (PIP) arthrodesis in horses to prevent fractures resulting from stress risers in the proximal phalanx (P1). However, this cortex screw fixation technique may limit efficient dorsal compression of the PIP joint by the plate, potentially affecting the stability of the construct. In this study, we aimed to measure stress and strain in P1 and the plate using an ex vivo model of PIP arthrodesis in horses. We employed various implantation methods an...
Wolschrijn CF, Smit IH, Schouten J, Moller Te NCR.Facial expressions are important in pain recognition in horses, but current observation-based pain scales remain subjective. A promising technique to quantitatively measure subtle changes in expression patterns, including changes invisible to the human eye, is surface electromyography (sEMG). To achieve high-quality and reliable sEMG signals, unilateral placement of bipolar electrodes is required in relation to the motor endplates (MEP). We aimed to localize the nerve entry points (NEPs; where the nerve branch first pierced the muscle belly) and the direction of the terminal nerve endings to e...
Osborne C, Elce YA, Byrant B, Meehan-Howard L.To determine with mechanical nociceptive threshold (MNT) testing whether distal limb skin sensation is affected by intra-articular anesthesia of the tarsometatarsal joint (TMTJ). Unassigned: This was a prospective cohort study. Ten client-owned horses that had intra-articular TMTJ anesthesia were included in the study. The MNT was measured at 6 sites on the distal limb at 3 time points: before anesthesia (T0) and at 10 min (T10) and 30 min (T30) post-injection. Linear mixed-model analyses were done, with the significance level set at P < 0.05. Unassigned: There was an increase in MNT (P = 0.00...
Puccetti M, Pilati N, Beccati F, Denoix JM.To describe the clinical diagnosis, ultrasound findings, and outcome of 11 endurance horses with injuries to the serratus ventralis thoracis (SVT) or serratus ventralis cervicis (SVC) muscle. Methods: 11 endurance horses competing in medium- to high-level competitions and presenting with lameness caused by injuries to the SVT or SVC muscle, as confirmed by ultrasonography. Methods: Physical examinations revealed swelling caudal to the shoulder region associated with dorsocranial displacement of the scapula and edema of the ventral thorax for horses with SVT injuries. Swelling cranial to the sc...
Usimaki A, Ciamillo SA, Barot D, Linardi RL, Engiles JB, Ortved KF.Autologous protein solution (APS) has been shown to decrease lameness in horses with osteoarthritis (OA). Synovitis is an early driver of OA, providing an opportunity to intervene in the progression of disease via intra-articular (IA) therapeutics. Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of a single IA APS injection in horses with interleukin-1β (IL-1β)-induced synovitis. We hypothesised that APS would decrease joint swelling and lameness, improve synovial fluid parameters and improve joint pathology scores in horses compared with untreated controls. Methods: Ra...
Ripollés-Lobo M, Molina A, Novales M, Ziadi C, Hernández E, Valera M.Osteochondrosis (OC) is a developmental orthopaedic disease of significant concern in numerous sport horse breeds, with significant international relevance. Using digital radiographs, we assessed the occurrence of hock (tarsocrural joint) OC in 3 048 Pura Raza Española (PRE) horses which took part in a morpho-functional test, in three specific locations in the tarsus limbs: the Distal Intermediate Ridge of the Tibia (DIRT), the lateral trochlear ridges of the talus (LTT), and the medial trochlear ridges of the talus (MTT). An incidence rate of 13.3% was found for hock OC in the analysed samp...
Bark C, Reilly P, Weller R, Pfau T.Hoof care providers are pivotal for implementing biomechanical optimizations of the musculoskeletal system in the horse. Regular visits allow for the collection of longitudinal, quantitative information ("normal ranges"). Changes in movement symmetry, e.g., after shoeing, are indicative of alterations in weight-bearing and push-off force production. Ten Warmblood show jumping horses (7-13 years; 7 geldings, 3 mares) underwent forelimb re-shoeing with rolled rocker shoes, one limb at a time ("limb-by-limb"). Movement symmetry was measured with inertial sensors attached to the head, withers, and...
Skedros JG, Dayton MR, Cronin JT, Mears CS, Bloebaum RD, Wang X, Bachus KN.Many bones experience bending, placing one side in net compression and the other in net tension. Because bone mechanical properties are relatively reduced in tension compared with compression, adaptations are needed to reduce fracture risk. Several toughening mechanisms exist in bone, yet little is known of the influences of secondary osteon collagen/lamellar 'morphotypes' and potential interplay with intermolecular collagen cross-links (CCLs) in prevalent/predominant tension- and compression-loaded regions. Paired third metacarpals (MC3s) from 10 adult horses were prepared for mechanical test...
Bertuglia A, Pallante M, Pagliara E, Valle D, Bergamini L, Bollo E, Bullone M, Riccio B.Tarsocrural osteochondrosis (OCD) is a developmental orthopedic disease commonly affecting young Standardbreds, with different fragment localization and size. Clinically, it is characterized by variable synovial effusion in the absence of lameness, whose determinants are ill-defined. We hypothesized that localization and physical characteristics of the osteochondral fragments like dimensions, multifragmentation, and instability influence joint effusion and correlate with synovial markers of cartilage degradation and inflammation. Clinical data, synovial fluid and intact osteochondral fragments...
Peat FJ, Kawcak CE, McIlwraith CW, Berk JT, Keenan DP.Changes in the proximal sesamoid bones (sesamoids) and the insertional region of the adjacent suspensory ligament branch (branch) are of particular importance in young Thoroughbreds sold at public auction. Little is known about the prevalence of concurrent ultrasonographical branch change, relative to the various grades of radiological sesamoid appearance. Objective: To examine the existence of concurrent radiological and ultrasonographical findings in individual sesamoid-branch units in sales horses; to determine whether there are any radiological findings that are consistently accompanied by...
Jobst ID, Zsoldos RR, Licka TF.Equine physiotherapy commonly includes basic exercises such as walking backward (BW) and voluntary lifting of single limbs (SLL), but trunk movements during these have not been studied. In order to compare the trunk kinematics during BW and SLL with forward walking (FW), nine horses were measured in FW, BW and during SLL triggered by tactile cue. Kinematics were obtained from skin markers captured by ten high-speed video cameras. Trunk angles were calculated in sagittal and horizontal planes from withers, dorsal to spinous processes of the 16th thoracic vertebra (T16), 2nd and 4th sacral verte...
Peat FJ, Kawcak CE, McIlwraith CW, Berk JT, Keenan DP, Selberg KT, Ojeda A.Equine suspensory ligament branch (branch) ultrasonography is becoming increasingly commonplace presale. No ultrasonographical branch reference data exists for Thoroughbred sales horses. Objective: To define the prevalence of ultrasonographical findings in the forelimb suspensory branches of yearling and 2-year-old sales Thoroughbreds and to analyse associations with racing performance. To track changes in branch findings between 1 and 2 years of age in horses that present for sale at both ages. Methods: Prospective cohort study using an enrolled sample. Methods: Horses were enrolled from a ...
Griffin DJ, Bonnevie ED, Lachowsky DJ, Hart JC, Sparks HD, Moran N, Matthews G, Nixon AJ, Cohen I, Bonassar LJ.There has been much interest in using autologous chondrocytes in combination with scaffold materials to aid in cartilage repair. In the present study, a total of 27 animals were used to compare the performance of matrix-assisted chondrocyte implantation (MACI®) using a collagen sponge as a chondrocyte delivery vehicle, the sponge membrane alone, and empty controls. A total of three distinct types of mechanical analyses were performed on repaired cartilage harvested from horses after 53 weeks of implantation: (1) compressive behavior of samples to measure aggregate modulus (HA) and hydraulic p...
Licka T, Frey A, Peham C.The pattern of electromyographic activity of the equine long back muscle at the walk has not yet been reported. The aim of this study was to use surface electromyography to measure activity of the longissimus dorsi muscles of horses walking on a treadmill. Fifteen horses without back pain were used and electromyographs were recorded bilaterally from the longissimus dorsi muscles at the level of T12, T16 and L3. Mean electromyograph activity and mean motion were calculated for each horse. At the walk, only one maximum activity for each longissimus dorsi muscle was detected during each motion cy...
Parkin TD.This article describes the development of epidemiologic analyses of racetrack injury in racehorses. The risk or rate of fatal and nonfatal injury in racing and training around the world is examined. The focus is on the importance of global collaboration and the identification of modifiable risk factors. In particular, exercise-related risk factors for injury are evaluated and the potential impact of interventions discussed.
MacGillivray KC, Sweeney RW, Del Piero F.The clinical and pathologic findings are reviewed for 14 horses with metastatic melanoma. All were older gray horses, with an average age of 16 years. The most common sites of primary tumors were the ventral tail, perineum, and parotid salivary gland. Metastases were found in multiple locations and caused a variety of clinical syndromes. The most common sites for metastases were the lymph nodes, liver, spleen, skeletal muscle, lungs, and surrounding or within blood vessels throughout the body. Many of the horses had dermal melanomas for years (range 1-6 years) before succumbing to metastatic d...
Kawai M, Minami Y, Sayama Y, Kuwano A, Hiraga A, Miyata H.We examine the muscle fiber population and metabolic properties of skeletal muscles from the whole body in Thoroughbred horses. Postmortem samples were taken from 46 sites in six Thoroughbred horses aged between 3 and 6 years. Fiber type population was determined on muscle fibers stained with monoclonal antibody to each myosin heavy chain isoform and metabolic enzyme activities were determined spectrophotometrically. Histochemical analysis demonstrated that most of the muscles had a high percentage of Type IIa fibers. In terms of the muscle characteristic in several parts of the horse body, th...
Parkin TD, Clegg PD, French NP, Proudman CJ, Riggs CM, Singer ER, Webbon PM, Morgan KL.The characteristics of, and pre-existing pathology associated with 75 cases of fatal lateral condylar fracture sustained by Thoroughbreds while racing in the UK were described. Cases were identified from 220 cases of fatal distal limb fracture submitted as part of studies designed to identify risk factors for all fatal distal limb fractures. Fractures were most common in hurdle races and affected the right forelimb twice as often as the left forelimb. Fracture dimensions were similar to previous reports, however there was a much greater prevalence of articular and diaphyseal comminution and of...
Argüelles D, Carmona JU, Climent F, Muñoz E, Prades M.Two horses with acute tendinopathy of a superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT) and three horses with chronic proximal desmitis of the suspensory ligament (PDSL) were treated by injecting autologous concentrates of their platelets into the lesions. The lesions were monitored ultrasonographically and clinically. There were significant ultrasonographic and clinical improvements in the two horses with SDFT, but no ultrasonographic improvements in the horses with PDSL; however, they improved clinically and became less lame. All the horses had returned to their pre-injury level of performance by s...
Kearns CF, McKeever KH, Abe T.Locomotion requires skeletal muscle to sustain and generate force. A muscle's force potential is proportional to its weight. Since the larger the muscle the larger its potential power output, a better understanding of the proportion of skeletal muscle a horse possesses may lead to a better understanding of horse performance. Several techniques exist to assess body composition, which include dual energy X-ray absorption, underwater (hydrostatic) weighing, derivation from total body water, bio-electric impedance, air displacement, body condition scoring, cadaver dissection and ultrasound. The re...
Stephens PR, Nunamaker DM, Butterweck DM.Custom-designed Hall-effect strain sensors (HES) were implanted surgically onto the superficial digital flexor tendons of the forelimbs of 4 adult Thoroughbreds. Strains were recorded at various gaits, using a portable amplifer and FM cassette recorder. Strain calculations used the original length (L) as the HES position with the forelimb in the relaxed neutral position during anesthesia. A characteristic deflection in the strain cycle recording was confirmed to correspond to initial hoof contact with the ground (heel strike) by simultaneous recording of weight bearing via a footswitch. Heel s...
Marck A, Berthelot G, Foulonneau V, Marc A, Antero-Jacquemin J, Noirez P, Bronikowski AM, Morgan TJ, Garland T, Carter PA, Hersen P, Di Meglio JM....Locomotion is one of the major physiological functions for most animals. Previous studies have described aging mechanisms linked to locomotor performance among different species. However, the precise dynamics of these age-related changes, and their interactions with development and senescence, are largely unknown. Here, we use the same conceptual framework to describe locomotor performances in Caenorhabditis elegans, Mus domesticus, Canis familiaris, Equus caballus, and Homo sapiens. We show that locomotion is a consistent biomarker of age-related changes, with an asymmetrical pattern througho...
Verheyen KL, Wood JL.Musculoskeletal injury is the major cause of days lost from training and wastage in Thoroughbred racehorses. Little scientific information is available on the majority of injuries occurring in training. Objective: To estimate the incidence of fractures in British racehorses in training and describe the occurrence of different fracture types and bones involved. Methods: Thirteen UK racehorse trainers participated in a prospective study, providing data on horses in their care for 2 years. Details on horses, their daily exercise and fracture occurrence were recorded. Results: A total of 1178 hors...
Locke M.Techniques for staining (silver, osmium, metal sulfides, ink) and microphotography (epi-illumination) of polished bone surfaces have been developed to visualize the three-dimensional structure of the shafts of mammalian long bones. Bone is a two-compartment system with capillaries and some kinds of connective tissue in one compartment separated from fibers of bone collagen, often forming lamellae, in the other. Laminar bone consists of stacks of lamellae separated by vascular spaces containing capillary network sheets. It is deposited at the periosteal and endosteal surfaces. Osteonic bone, we...
Harrison SM, Whitton RC, King M, Haussler KK, Kawcak CE, Stover SM, Pandy MG.Few quantitative data exist to describe the activity of the distal muscles of the equine forelimb during locomotion, and there is an incomplete understanding of the functional roles of the majority of the forelimb muscles. Based on morphology alone it would appear that the larger proximal muscles perform the majority of work in the forelimb, whereas the smaller distal muscles fulfil supplementary roles such as stabilizing the joints and positioning the limb for impact with the ground. We measured the timing and amplitude of the electromyographic activity of the intrinsic muscles of the forelim...
Faber M, Johnston C, Schamhardt H, van Weeren R, Roepstorff L, Barneveld A.To determine movements of the vertebral column of horses during normal locomotion. Methods: 5 young Dutch Warmblood horses that did not have signs of back problems or lameness. Methods: Kinematics of 8 vertebrae (T6, T10, T13, T17, L1, L3, L5, and S3) and both tuber coxae were determined, using bone-fixated markers. Measurements were recorded when the horses were trotting on a treadmill at a constant speed of 4.0 m/s. Results: Flexion-extension and axial rotation were characterized by a double sinusoidal pattern of motion during 1 stride cycle, whereas lateral bending was characterized by 1 pe...
Warner SM, Koch TO, Pfau T.Assessing back movement is an important part of clinical examination in the horse and objective assessment tools allow for evaluating success of treatment. Objective: Accuracy and consistency of inertial sensor measurements for quantification of back movement and movement symmetry during over ground locomotion were assessed; sensor measurements were compared to optical motion capture (mocap) and consistency of measurements focusing on movement symmetry was measured. Methods: Six nonlame horses were trotted in hand with synchronised mocap and inertial sensor data collection (landmarks: T6, T10,...
Serrano AL, Quiroz-Rothe E, Rivero JL.Twenty-four 4-year-old Andalusian (Spanish breed) stallions were used to examine the plasticity of myosin heavy chain (MHC) phenotype and the metabolic profile in horse skeletal muscle with long-term endurance-exercise training and detraining. Sixteen horses underwent a training programme based on aerobic exercises for 8 months. Afterwards, they were kept in paddocks for 3 months. The remaining eight horses were used as controls. Three gluteus medius muscle biopsy samples were removed at depths of 20, 40 and 60 mm from each horse before (month 0), during (month 3) and after (month 8) training,...
Turner TA.Thermography has been shown to be a practical aid in the clinical evaluation of lameness. This modality specifically increases the accuracy of diagnosis. Thermography represents skin temperature, usually pictorially. The techniques involve contacting and noncontacting modalities. Noncontacting thermography, which detects infrared radiation, is the most accurate. In order to be accurate, thermography must be performed in a temperature-controlled, draft-free area. The area should be protected from sunlight to avoid erroneous heating of the skin, and the hair length should be uniform. Thermograph...
Langton CM, Ali AV, Riggs CM, Evans GP, Bonfield W.A portable system using a direct contact for the measurement of ultrasonic velocity and broadband attenuation in bone is described (contact ultrasonic bone analyser, CUBA). Soft-tissue compensation is performed using an ultrasonic pulse-echo technique. CUBA has been successfully validated using reference materials, the precision of velocity and broadband attenuation measurements being typically 0.2% and 0.5% respectively. The clinical reproducibility has been assessed on the equine third metacarpal bone. The reproducibility of velocity measurement is typically 0.5% for cortical bone and 1% for...
Fedak MA, Heglund NC, Taylor CR.This is the second paper in a series examining the link between energetics and mechanics of terrestrial locomotion. In this paper, the changes in the kinetic energy of the limbs and body relative to the centre of mass of an animal (EKE, tot) are measured as functions of speed and body size. High-speed films (light or X-ray) of four species of quadrupeds and four species of bipeds running on a treadmill were analysed to determine EKE, tot. A mass-specific power term, EKE, tot/Mb was calculated by adding all of the increments in EKE during an integral number of strides and dividing by the time i...
Rhodin M, Gómez Alvarez CB, Byström A, Johnston C, van Weeren PR, Roepstorff L, Weishaupt MA.Dressage involves training of the horse with the head and neck placed in a position defined by the rider. The best position for dressage training is currently under debate among riders and trainers, but there are few scientific data available to confirm or disprove the different views. Objective: To evaluate the kinematic effects of different head and neck positions (HNPs) in elite dressage horses ridden at trot. Methods: Seven high-level dressage horses were subjected to kinetic and kinematic measurements when ridden on a treadmill with the head and neck in 5 different positions. Results: Com...
De Schauwer C, Van de Walle GR, Van Soom A, Meyer E.In the past decade, mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) have received much attention in equine veterinary medicine. The first therapeutic use of equine MSC was reported in 2003. Since then, the clinical application of MSC has been exploding with thousands of horses now treated worldwide. At present, MSC are mainly used in veterinary medicine to treat musculoskeletal diseases based on their ability to differentiate into various tissues of mesodermal origin. This is in marked contrast to human medicine, where MSC therapies are primarily focused on immune-mediated, inflammatory, and ischemic diseases. I...
Harrison SM, Whitton RC, Kawcak CE, Stover SM, Pandy MG.The equine metacarpophalangeal (MCP) joint is frequently injured, especially by racehorses in training. Most injuries result from repetitive loading of the subchondral bone and articular cartilage rather than from acute events. The likelihood of injury is multi-factorial but the magnitude of mechanical loading and the number of loading cycles are believed to play an important role. Therefore, an important step in understanding injury is to determine the distribution of load across the articular surface during normal locomotion. A subject-specific finite-element model of the MCP joint was devel...
Skedros JG, Mason MW, Nelson MC, Bloebaum RD.Functionally induced strains provide epigenetic signaling for bone modeling and remodeling activities. Strain gauge documentation of the equine third metacarpal reveals a neutral axis passing through the craniolateral cortex, resulting in a narrow band of cortex loaded predominantly in tension, with the remainder of the cortex experiencing a wide range of compression strain magnitudes that are maximal in the caudomedial cortex. This predictable strain pattern provides a model for examining the hypothesis that strain mode, magnitude, and strain energy density are potential correlates of compact...
Firth EC, Rogers CW, Doube M, Jopson NB.To determine the effect of a known training regimen on the size and mineral content of the third metacarpal (Mc3) and third metatarsal (Mt3) bones of 2-year-old Thoroughbred horses trained on racetracks. Methods: Mc3 and Mt3 of seven horses trained on grass and sand tracks were scanned at several sites using conventional quantitative and peripheral computed tomography (CT). Bone dimensions and density in the diaphysis and epiphysis were compared with those from seven untrained horses. Calcein label was injected in two clusters, during Weeks 9 and 12. The extent and rate of diaphyseal modelling...
Desjardin C, Vaiman A, Mata X, Legendre R, Laubier J, Kennedy SP, Laloe D, Barrey E, Jacques C, Cribiu EP, Schibler L.MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are an abundant class of small single-stranded non-coding RNA molecules ranging from 18 to 24 nucleotides. They negatively regulate gene expression at the post-transcriptional level and play key roles in many biological processes, including skeletal development and cartilage maturation. In addition, miRNAs involvement in osteoarticular diseases has been proved and some of them were identified as suitable biomarkers for pathological conditions. Equine osteochondrosis (OC) is one of the most prevalent juvenile osteoarticular disorders in horses and represents a major concern f...
Södersten F, Ekman S, Eloranta ML, Heinegård D, Dudhia J, Hultenby K.The structure and organisation of the extracellular matrix, and in particular the axial alignment of type I collagen fibrils, are essential for the tensile strength of tendons. The resident tenocytes synthesize and maintain the composition of the extracellular matrix, which changes with age and maturation. Other components of the extracellular matrix include less abundant collagen types II, III, V, VI, XII, proteoglycans and glycoproteins. Cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP) is an abundant non-collagenous pentameric glycoprotein in the tendon, which can bind to collagen types I and II. ...
Landman MA, de Blaauw JA, van Weeren PR, Hofland LJ.A population of 805 horses (70 per cent dressage, 20 per cent show jumpers and 10 per cent trotters) with orthopaedic problems was examined for signs of lameness and back problems, irrespective of their original complaints. In the horses with a back problem the prevalence of lameness was 74 per cent, and back problems were diagnosed in 32 per cent of the lame horses. These percentages were significantly higher than those recorded in a control population of 399 horses, of which 20 per cent were lame and 12 per cent had back problems. In the group of horses with orthopaedic problems there was a ...
Ishihara A, Reed SM, Rajala-Schultz PJ, Robertson JT, Bertone AL.To evaluate use of kinetic gait analysis for detection, quantification, and differentiation of hind limb lameness and spinal ataxia in horses. Methods: Prospective clinical study. Methods: 36 horses. Procedures-Kinetic gait analysis with a force plate was performed for 12 clinically normal horses, 12 horses with hind limb lameness, and 12 horses with spinal ataxia. Kinetic variables were compared among groups, correlated to subjective grading, and used to build predictive models to assess the accuracy of discrimination. Results: Subsets of kinetic variables were characteristically altered in a...
Skedros JG, Sorenson SM, Jenson NH.In cortical bone, basic multicellular units (BMUs) produce secondary osteons that mediate adaptations, including variations in their population densities and cross-sectional areas. Additional important BMU-related adaptations might include atypical secondary osteon morphologies (zoned, connected, drifting, elongated, multiple canal). These variants often reflect osteonal branching that enhances toughness by increasing interfacial (cement line) complexity. If these characteristics correlate with strain mode/magnitude-related parameters of habitual loading, then BMUs might produce adaptive diffe...
