Environmental Factors of Equine Osteochondrosis and Fetlock Osteochondral Fragments: A Scoping Review – Part 1.

This research article is a comprehensive review of the environmental factors associated with osteochondral disorders in equines, specifically osteochondrosis and fetlock osteochondral fragments. It suggests that future research should consider a multidisciplinary approach to unravel the complex relationships between these disorders and environmental factors.

Introduction

• The article is a scoping review that looks into the environmental and genetic factors related to equine osteochondrosis and osteochondral fragments in the fetlock joint.
• The review uses various online databases such as PubMed, Web of Science, and articles from the OMIA website to gather relevant papers.
• After a careful and rigorous process that involved removal of duplicates, screening titles, reviewing abstracts and full-text documents and manual search of reference lists, a total of 212 studies were identified for the review.

Etiopathogenesis of the Disorders

• The research begins with an explanation of the current understanding of the cause and development of equine osteochondrosis and osteochondral fragments in the fetlock joint.
• This aims to form a foundation for the subsequent discussion on the link between environmental factors and these disorders.

Environmental Factors

• The study then deep-dives into the various environmental factors associated with these disorders, which include:
• Foetal programming, biomechanical trauma and exercise, growth, anatomic conformation, nutrition, weaning, hormonal factors, bacterial infection, sex, date of birth, and other environmental factors.
• Each of these factors is discussed in terms of how it affects the prevalence of the disorders.

Conclusions and Future Recommendations

• The review concludes with a call for future research to take a multidisciplinary approach in investigating these disorders. It argues for the need for longitudinal studies and precise phenotype definitions to better understand the complex relationships between these factors and the disorders.
• Furthermore, the authors argue that such an approach will be vital in developing effective management strategies that can enhance equine orthopaedic health.