Equine hospital data as a source for study of prevalence and heritability of osteochondrosis and palmar/plantar osseous fragments of Swedish Warmblood horses.
Abstract: Disturbances in skeletal development, primarily osteochondrosis (OC) and palmar/plantar osseous fragments (POF), have been commonly reported as problems in young horses. However, there are few reports of such findings for epidemiological analyses or breeding purposes. Objective: To evaluate equine hospital data as a possible source of information for genetic evaluations by estimating prevalence and heritability of OC in the stifle, hock and fetlock joints and of POF in the fetlock. Methods: Data on Swedish Warmblood (SWB) horses were obtained from a large equine hospital in south Sweden. Prevalences were based on radiographic examinations of 879 screened horses, mainly evaluated as part of a prepurchase examination and 3639 horses with a reported history of orthopaedic problems. For the heritability study the 2 data sources were pooled and 3199 examined horses with pedigree information were considered for the linear animal model analyses. Results: The overall prevalence of OC was 13% (stifle 9%, hock 6% and dorsal osseous fragments in fetlock [DOF] 10%) and POF 10%. The overall heritability of OC was 0.05 on the visible binomial scale. The corresponding heritabilities for OC in the stifle were 0.03, hock 0.08, DOF 0.10 and POF 0.13. These values correspond to heritabilities of 0.09-0.38 on the underlying quantitative scale. Conclusions: Obtained prevalences and heritabilities were in accordance with other studies, supporting the hypothesis that data regularly obtained from equine hospitals may be a valuable source in studies of inherited disorders such as OC and POF. There is a need for more standardised documentation of diagnoses and consistent recording of identity of examined horses using passports or breed databases. Compilation of results from major clinics is desired in order to cover most progenies of stallions used in a region or nation.
© 2010 EVJ Ltd.
Publication Date: 2011-05-27 PubMed ID: 21615779DOI: 10.1111/j.2042-3306.2010.00354.xGoogle Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
- Research Support
- Non-U.S. Gov't
- Diagnosis
- Disease Diagnosis
- Disease Etiology
- Disease Management
- Disease Outbreaks
- Disease Prevalence
- Disease Surveillance
- Disease Treatment
- Epidemiology
- Equine Diseases
- Equine Health
- Genetics
- Heritability
- Musculoskeletal System
- Orthopedics
- Osteochondrosis
- Radiology
- Veterinary Care
- Veterinary Medicine
- Veterinary Research
- Warmblood Horses
Summary
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The research article has analyzed data from an equine hospital to estimate the prevalence and heritability of two skeletal health issues in Swedish Warmblood horses: Osteochondrosis (OC) and palmar/plantar osseous fragments (POF). Results suggest that these issues are somewhat heritable and suggest equine hospital data can be a significant resource for studying inherited disorders in horses.
Research Objective and Methods
- The objective of the study was to use data from an equine hospital to estimate the prevalence and the degree of heritability (how likely a parent is to pass these conditions to its offspring) of Osteochondrosis (OC) and palmar/plantar osseous fragments (POF) in Swedish Warmblood horses.
- Data was collected from a large equine hospital in south Sweden, examining a total of 879 horses primarily as part of a pre-purchase examination and 3,639 horses which had reported orthopaedic problems.
- For the heritability aspect of the study, two data sources were combined and 3,199 horses, which had relevant pedigree info, were examined under a linear animal model analysis.
Results
- Based on this data, the overall prevalence of OC was found to be 13% (9% in the stifle, 6% at the hock, and 10% of dorsal osseous fragments in the fetlock) and POF was 10%.
- The study also found that the overall heritability of OC measured 0.05 on the visible binomial scale. The corresponding heritabilities for OC were 0.03 in the stifle, 0.08 at the hock, and 0.10 for the dorsal osseous fragments in the fetlock and 0.13 for POF.
- Converted to the underlying quantitative scale, these figures represent heritabilities in the range of 0.09 to 0.38.
Conclusions
- The prevalence rates and heritability figures derived from this study align with the findings of other similar studies, lending support to the hypothesis that regularly collected data from equine hospitals could provide valuable insights in studies of inherited disorders like OC and POF.
- However, the study emphasized the need for more standardized documentation of diagnoses and consistent methods of recording the identity of examined horses using passports or breed databases.
- For completeness and cover most progenies of stallions, results should ideally be compiled from major clinics across regions or even nations.
Cite This Article
APA
Jönsson L, Dalin G, Egenvall A, Näsholm A, Roepstorff L, Philipsson J.
(2011).
Equine hospital data as a source for study of prevalence and heritability of osteochondrosis and palmar/plantar osseous fragments of Swedish Warmblood horses.
Equine Vet J, 43(6), 695-700.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2042-3306.2010.00354.x Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Department of Animal Breeding and Genetics, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Sweden. Lina.Jonssson@slu.se
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Fractures, Bone / genetics
- Fractures, Bone / pathology
- Fractures, Bone / veterinary
- Genetic Predisposition to Disease
- Horse Diseases / epidemiology
- Horse Diseases / genetics
- Horse Diseases / pathology
- Horses
- Hospitals, Animal
- Joint Diseases / epidemiology
- Joint Diseases / pathology
- Joint Diseases / veterinary
- Osteochondrosis / epidemiology
- Osteochondrosis / genetics
- Osteochondrosis / pathology
- Osteochondrosis / veterinary
- Prevalence
- Retrospective Studies
- Sweden / epidemiology
Citations
This article has been cited 10 times.- Martinez-Saez L, Marín-García PJ, Llobat ML. Osteochondrosis in horses: An overview of genetic and other factors. Equine Vet J 2026 Jan;58(1):6-19.
- Zimmermann E, Distl O. SNP-Based Heritability of Osteochondrosis Dissecans in Hanoverian Warmblood Horses. Animals (Basel) 2023 Apr 25;13(9).
- McCoy AM, Secor EJ, Roady PJ, Gray SM, Klein J, Gutierrez-Nibeyro SD. Plantar osteochondral fragments in young Standardbreds are associated with minimal joint inflammation at the time of surgical removal. Equine Vet J 2023 Jan;55(1):33-41.
- Gorissen BMC, Wolschrijn CF, Serra Bragança FM, Geerts AAJ, Leenders WOJL, Back W, van Weeren PR. The development of locomotor kinetics in the foal and the effect of osteochondrosis. Equine Vet J 2017 Jul;49(4):467-474.
- Russell J, Matika O, Russell T, Reardon RJ. Heritability and prevalence of selected osteochondrosis lesions in yearling Thoroughbred horses. Equine Vet J 2017 May;49(3):282-287.
- Welsh CE, Lewis TW, Blott SC, Mellor DJ, Lam KH, Stewart BD, Parkin TD. Preliminary genetic analyses of important musculoskeletal conditions of Thoroughbred racehorses in Hong Kong. Vet J 2013 Dec;198(3):611-5.
- Jönsson L, Roepstorff L, Egenvall A, Näsholm A, Dalin G, Philipsson J. Prevalence of clinical findings at examinations of young Swedish warmblood riding horses. Acta Vet Scand 2013 Apr 18;55(1):34.
- Jönsson L, Näsholm A, Roepstorff L, Egenvall A, Dalin G, Philipsson J. Genetic analysis of clinical findings at health examinations of young Swedish warmblood riding horses. Acta Vet Scand 2013 Mar 8;55(1):22.
- Pinchbeck GL, Clegg PD, Boyde A, Barr ED, Riggs CM. Horse-, training- and race-level risk factors for palmar/plantar osteochondral disease in the racing Thoroughbred. Equine Vet J 2013 Sep;45(5):582-6.
- Egenvall A, Nødtvedt A, Roepstorff L, Bonnett B. Integrating databases for research on health and performance in small animals and horses in the Nordic countries. Acta Vet Scand 2011;53 Suppl 1(Suppl 1):S4.
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