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Topic:Musculoskeletal System
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.
Evaluation of a stochastic Markov-chain model for the development of forelimb injuries in Thoroughbred racehorses. To evaluate a Markov-chain model for the development of forelimb injuries in Thoroughbreds and to use the model to determine effects of reducing sprint distance on incidence of metacarpal condylar fracture (CDY) and severe suspensory apparatus injury (SSAI). Methods: Weekly exercise and injury data for 122 Thoroughbreds during racing or training. Methods: Weekly data were used to construct a Markov-chain model with 5 states (uninjured [UNINJ], palpable suspensory apparatus injury [PSAII, SSAI, CDY, and lost to follow-up [LOST]). Transition probabilities between UNINJ and PSAI were estimated as...
Moment arms about the carpal and metacarpophalangeal joints for flexor and extensor muscles in equine forelimbs. To determine whether muscle moment arms at the carpal and metacarpophalangeal joints can be modeled as fixed-radius pulleys for the range of motion associated with the stance phase of the gait in equine forelimbs. Methods: 4 cadaveric forelimbs from 2 healthy Thoroughbreds. Methods: Thin wire cables were sutured at the musculotendinous junction of 9 forelimb muscles. The cables passed through eyelets at each muscle's origin, wrapped around single-turn potentiometers, and were loaded. Tendon excursions, measured as the changes in lengths of the cables, were recorded during manual rotation of th...
Selective deafferentation of hand cutaneous territory is followed by changes in fibre type distribution of a forearm muscle in the horse. Based on previous observations that capsaicin can selectively damage group III and IV afferents and induce muscle fibre transformation, we hypothesized that eliminating, by means of capsaicin, the group III and IV afferents of a peripheral territory it could lead to a fibre transformation in a muscle involved in the flexor reflexes of the same peripheral territory. Therefore, capsaicin was injected into the palmar nerves of the forelimb of the horse to investigate if eliminating group III and IV afferents from the hand of the horse a muscle fibre transition would occur in the flexor carpi radi...
Unilateral white line disease and laminitis in a quarter horse mare. A 5-year-old quarter horse mare presented with unilateral, severe, chronic forelimb lameness. Radiographs revealed extensive hoof wall separation and capsular rotation of the distal phalanx. Treatment included dorsal hoof wall resection, phenylbutazone, a bar shoe, and stall rest. Whether white line disease or laminitis was the primary lesion remains unclear.
The energetics of the trot-gallop transition. Two studies have focused on potential triggers for the trot-gallop transition in the horse. One study concluded that the transition was triggered by metabolic economy. The second study found that it was not metabolic factors but, rather, peak musculoskeletal forces that determine gait transition speeds. In theory, peak musculoskeletal forces should be the same when trotting up an incline as when trotting at the same speed on the level. Assuming this is the case, we hypothesized that if peak forces determine gait transition speeds then horses should switch from a trot to a gallop at the same sp...
Equine third metacarpal bone assessment by quantitative ultrasound and dual energy X-ray absorptiometry: an ex vivo study. The purpose of this ex vivo study was to analyse two commonly established methods of mechanical bone property assessment for application in horses: Quantitative ultrasound (QUS), which depends on the bone's density and Young's modulus, and dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), which depends on the areal bone mineral density (BMD). The third metacarpal bone (MC III) of horses was selected as examination region for practical reasons. An interrelationship between QUS- and DXA-values was examined. Both MC III of eleven randomly selected equine cadavers were divided in nine regions of interest (R...
The effect of gait and digital flexor muscle activation on limb compliance in the forelimb of the horse Equus caballus. A horse's legs are compressed during the stance phase, storing and then returning elastic strain energy in spring-like muscle-tendon units. The arrangement of the muscle-tendon units around the lever-like joints means that as the leg shortens the muscle-tendon units are stretched. The forelimb anatomy means that the leg can be conceptually divided into two springs: the proximal spring, from the scapula to the elbow, and the distal spring, from the elbow to the foot. In this paper we report the results of a series of experiments testing the hypothesis that there is minimal scope for muscle cont...
Influence of liver copper status of mare and newborn foal on the development of osteochondrotic lesions. To elucidate the highly contentious role of copper in the pathogenesis of osteochondrosis. Objective: There would be no relationship between liver copper concentration of mares and foals and incidence of radiographically detectable osteochondrotic lesions in foals and yearlings was tested. Methods: Liver copper concentration was assessed in biopsies taken within 4 days after birth from both mares and foals and from the same foals at age 5 months. Biopsies were taken in the standing, sedated animal under ultrasonographic guidance. Radiographs were taken of both hocks (lateromedial, dorsoplantar...
Ultrasonographic abnormalities detected in the sacroiliac area in twenty cases of upper hindlimb lameness. The pelvis is covered with extensive musculature and often presents a challenge in diagnostic imaging. Ultrasonography provides diagnostic information about soft tissue, articular cartilage and bone surfaces, although little information exists about the normal ultrasonographic appearance of the equine sacroiliac region. Objective: To determine the clinical applicability of ultrasonographic examination in horses with sacroiliac pain. Methods: Horses presented to the University of Minnesota Veterinary Teaching Hospital for hindlimb lameness were evaluated and lower limb lameness was ruled out wi...
Differential distribution of cathepsins B and L in articular cartilage during skeletal development in the horse. This study was designed to examine a new role for cysteine proteinases in the process of endochondral ossification. Objective: The aim of the present study was to investigate the presence and distribution of cathepsin B and cathepsin L in equine articular cartilage during development. Methods: Full-depth cartilage samples from a total of 40 horses (age range: 4 month fetuses to 2 years) were examined and enzymes detected by immunocytochemical localisation. Results: Observations on the presence of cathepsins B and L revealed significant age-related differences, resulting in clear division of th...
Ultrasonographic abnormalities detected in the sacroiliac area in twenty cases of upper hindlimb lameness. The pelvis is covered with extensive musculature and often presents a challenge in diagnostic imaging. Ultrasonography provides diagnostic information about soft tissue, articular cartilage and bone surfaces, although little information exists about the normal ultrasonographic appearance of the equine sacroiliac region. Objective: To determine the clinical applicability of ultrasonographic examination in horses with sacroiliac pain. Methods: Horses presented to the University of Minnesota Veterinary Teaching Hospital for hindlimb lameness were evaluated and lower limb lameness was ruled out wi...
Deformation behaviour and damage accumulation of cortical bone specimens from the equine tibia under cyclic loading. Despite its clinical importance, the fatigue behaviour of cortical bone has not been examined as widely as its static behaviour. In the present study, specimens from the tibiae of horses have been subjected to load-controlled single step tests. The cyclic deformation behaviour was described by the development of stress-strain hysteresis parameters over the lifetime. The fatigue behaviour of bone is characterised by cyclic softening which is most distinctive towards the end of the lifetime. The microstructural damage accumulated during cyclic loading results in a loss of stiffness, asymmetrical...
Influence of age of horse on results of quantitative electromyographic needle examination of skeletal muscles in Dutch Warmblood horses. To determine the influence of age on results of quantitative analysis of electromyographic (EMG) needle examination in the subclavian, triceps, and lateral vastus muscles of Dutch Warmblood horses. Methods: 7 healthy young Dutch Warmblood horses (range, 13 to 18 months old), 7 healthy adult Dutch Warmblood horses (range, 4 to 10 years old), and 7 healthy elderly Dutch Warmblood horses (range, 18 to 21 years old). Methods: An EMG needle examination was performed to evaluate insertional activity, spontaneous activity, and motor unit action potential (MUAP) variables. Although all horses were con...
Reproductive considerations: mare and stallion. Functional alterations within the reproductive system and in other supporting systems may limit the reproductive capacity of geriatric patients; however, the age of onset and degree of compromise show wide individual variation. Aging of the hypothalamopituitary-ovarian axis in the mare manifests as delayed entry to the breeding season, prolonged follicular phases, reduced response to ovulation induction, irregular cycles, oocyte defects, increased early embryonic death, and, eventually, persistent anestrus. Aging of the reproductive tract may increase her susceptibility to endometritis, compro...
Muscarinic receptors in equine airways. The distribution of muscarinic receptors in equine airways was investigated using autoradiography. Frozen sections of tissue from six different levels in the bronchial tree, from the trachea to the distal bronchioles, were incubated in vitro with 1.5 nmol/L of the muscarinic receptor antagonist 1-[N-methyl-3H]scopolamine methyl chloride (3H-NMS). In addition, the subtype pattern of muscarinic receptors was investigated in equine tracheal smooth muscle using radioligand binding with methoctramine, tripinamidc, 4-DAMP-methiodide and pirenzipine as competitors against the binding of 1.3 nmol/L 3H...
Overview of horse body composition and muscle architecture: implications for performance. 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...
Computed tomographic appearance of osteochondritis dissecans-like lesions of the proximal articular surface of the proximal phalanx in a horse. A 6-year-old Thoroughbred gelding presented with a left forelimb lameness. The results of lameness examination, radiography, nuclear scintigraphy, and computed tomography are presented. Based on the diagnostic imaging, subchondral fractures and osteochondritis dissecans lesions of the proximal articular surface of the proximal phalanx were diagnosed. A brief discussion of osteochondritis dissecans is presented.
In vitro effects of oxytocin, acepromazine, detomidine, xylazine, butorphanol, terbutaline, isoproterenol, and dantrolene on smooth and skeletal muscles of the equine esophagus. To characterize the in vitro effects of oxytocin, acepromazine, xylazine, butorphanol, detomidine, dantrolene, isoproterenol, and terbutaline on skeletal and smooth muscle from the equine esophagus. Methods: 14 adult horses without digestive tract disease. Methods: Circular and longitudinal strips from the skeletal and smooth muscle of the esophagus were suspended in tissue baths, connected to force-displacement transducers interfaced with a physiograph, and electrical field stimulation was applied. Cumulative concentration-response curves were generated for oxytocin, acepromazine, xylazine, d...
The influence of ageing and exercise on tendon growth and degeneration–hypotheses for the initiation and prevention of strain-induced tendinopathies. Strain-induced tendinopathy is a common injury in both human and equine athletes, with increasing incidence associated with greater involvement in sport and an increasingly aged population. This paper reviews our studies on the abundant non-collagenous protein, cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP), in equine tendons. Its variation between tendon type and site, age and exercise has provided an insight into how age and exercise influence tendon growth and maturation. Tendons can be broadly divided into two types, reflecting their different matrix composition and function: the energy-storin...
Incidence and risk factors for exertional rhabdomyolysis in thoroughbred racehorses in the United Kingdom. Telephone surveys of 34 racing yards with 1276 horses in training were made to establish the overall incidence of exertional rhabdomyolysis in the previous year. A case-control study was used to investigate the risk factors for the syndrome in 12 yards selected on the basis of the routine confirmation of diagnoses by the evaluation of the serum activities of creatine kinase and aspartate aminotransferase. The overall incidence of the syndrome was 6.7 per cent and 80 per cent of the trainers had at least one affected horse. In 74 per cent of the affected horses it frequently recurred, with an a...
[Initial management of congenital varus equinus clubfoot by Ponseti’s method]. The choice of first-line treatment for congenital varus equine clubfoot remains a controversial issue largely dependent on experience. In France, functional treatment predominates. In 1948, Ponseti proposed reducing the deformity with successive casts. Although cast treatment is a very old method, Ponseti's method is original because it is based on strict rules established from anatomic evidence. The goal is not to correct the apparent deformation, but on the contrary to impose a simultaneous supination and abduction of the foot. Once the calcaneopedal block has been derotated, percutaneous te...
In vitro evaluation of nonrigid support systems for the equine metacarpophalangeal joint. Metacarpophalangeal (MCP) joint extension is primarily resisted by the digital flexor tendons and suspensory ligament. A variety of external support techniques are used to protect these supporting structures from or after injury by resisting MCP joint extension, although not all are effective and/or practical for use in an exercising horse. In this study, 7 forelimbs were loaded in vitro to determine the effect of a simple gamgee bandage, a 3-layered bandage with and without a contoured palmar splint, a neoprene exercise boot, and an innovative carbon fibre composite exercise boot (Dalmar tend...
Risk factors for the hazard of lameness in Danish Standardbred trotters. A follow-up study focusing on health problems interfering with optimal training of Danish Standardbred trotters was conducted with the participation of seven professional trainers. Our aim was to estimate the incidence of health problems that cause interruptions of optimal training, and to identify associations between the hazard of lameness and selected risk factors. The study population was dynamic and contained data of 265 Standardbred trotters monitored during 5 months in 1997 and 1998. The horses were >or=2 years old. Optimal training was defined as when the horse followed scheduled tr...
