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Home / Equine Research Bank / Can Vet J / Growth rates at the extremities of limb bones in young horse...
The Canadian veterinary journal = La revue veterinaire canadienne1981; 22(2); 31-33;

Growth rates at the extremities of limb bones in young horses.

Abstract: Measurements were made of growth at the extremities of all the long bones of the left limbs of 23 horses between 52 and 104 days of age. Growth rates were more rapid in the younger than in the older animals. Growth was more rapid in the hind limb than in the forelimb. Growth rates were greater for males than in females. Although this age group represents only two of the 60 or so months necessary for maturity to be reached, oxytetracycline bone-labelling produced results which are more precise than measurements obtained by other methods. This study provides a substantial amount of data for an age group of horses whose growth rate has not been well documented.
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Publication Date: 1981-02-01 PubMed ID: 7225994PubMed Central: PMC1789858
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  • Journal Article

Summary

This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.

The research paper deals with a study on the growth rates of limb bone extremities in young horses, showing that the rates are more elevated in younger horses, males, and in the hind limbs.

Research Context

  • The research focuses on the study of growth rates in bone extremities, specifically those in the long bones of a horse’s limbs. More accurately, the research set out to measure these growth rates for a group of young horses between 52 and 104 days old, which is a period during the juvenile development stage of a horse’s life that hasn’t previously been well-explored.

Methods

  • The study utilized measurements taken from all the long bones of the left limbs of 23 horses in the specified age range to observe growth rates.
  • To improve the precision of these measurements, the research team made use of oxytetracycline bone-labelling, which is a technique that involves giving animals injections of oxytetracycline antibiotic, which then gets inserted into the mineralized tissue. This forms a fluorescent complex that can be easily seen under UV light – allowing researchers to measure the newly formed bone since the prior marker was inserted.

Findings

  • The research found that the growth rates were more rapid in younger horses compared to the older ones. This adds evidence to the previously established knowledge that growth rates decrease as an animal develops, particularly when it progresses past infancy or early youth stages.
  • The study also highlights faster growth rates in the hind limbs than the forelimbs. This piece of information could be beneficial in understanding species-specific development patterns in horses, potentially aiding in better veterinary care or procedures designed for young horses.
  • Another observation is that male horses exhibit faster growth rates than female horses within the same age range. This reveals the potential for significant gender-based differences in developmental rates, which may have implications for breeding, rearing, and horse-care strategies.

Contribution to Knowledge

  • While the research covers only two out of approximately 60 months needed for a horse to mature, it provides an important insight into the growth and development of horses during a stage that had previously been under-documented.
  • Given the specificity of the studied population (young horses aged between 52 and 104 days), the results obtained significantly enrich the comparative baseline data on equine morphological development.

Cite This Article

APA
Goyal HO, MacCallum FJ, Brown MP, Delack JB. (1981). Growth rates at the extremities of limb bones in young horses. Can Vet J, 22(2), 31-33.

Publication

The Canadian veterinary journal = La revue veterinaire canadienne
ISSN: 0008-5286
NlmUniqueID: 0004653
Country: Canada
Language: English
Volume: 22
Issue: 2
Pages: 31-33

Researcher Affiliations

Goyal, H O
    MacCallum, F J
      Brown, M P
        Delack, J B

          MeSH Terms

          • Animals
          • Bone Development
          • Extremities / growth & development
          • Female
          • Horses / growth & development
          • Male

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          Citations

          This article has been cited 3 times.
          1. Richbourg HA, Mitchell CF, Gillett AN, McNulty MA. Tiludronate and clodronate do not affect bone structure or remodeling kinetics over a 60 day randomized trial. BMC Vet Res 2018 Mar 20;14(1):105.
            doi: 10.1186/s12917-018-1423-2pubmed: 29554967google scholar: lookup
          2. Firth EC. The response of bone, articular cartilage and tendon to exercise in the horse. J Anat 2006 Apr;208(4):513-26.
            doi: 10.1111/j.1469-7580.2006.00547.xpubmed: 16637875google scholar: lookup
          3. Lepage OM, Marcoux M, Tremblay A, Dumas G. Sex does not influence serum osteocalcin levels in standardbred horses of different ages. Can J Vet Res 1992 Oct;56(4):379-81.
            pubmed: 1477808
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