Postoperative performance of racing horses with tearing of the medial palmar intercarpal ligament.

This research examines how tearing of the medial palmar intercarpal ligament (MPICL) in racing horses impacts their post-surgery performance. It found that severe tearing of this ligament and the associated bone damage significantly decrease a horse’s postoperative performance, however, the presence of articular cartilage damage seemed insignificant in predicting the horse’s performance after the surgery.

Research Objective

• The main goal was to investigate the effect of different grades of tearing in the medial palmar intercarpal ligament (MPICL), an important ligament in a horse’s leg, on the post-surgery performance of racing horses.

Methodology

• A total of 42 horses undergoing midcarpal joint examination via arthroscopy were studied prospectively. Along with the severity of the MPICL tearing, the researchers also examined subchondral bone damage and articular cartilage damage.
• The horse’s performance was evaluated in up to five races prior and after the surgery. A score was calculated based on the race class and position, after which the pre-operative score was subtracted from the post-operative one to yield a net score.
• Statistical analysis was performed using multiple linear regression and the Mann Whitney U test.

Results

• Post-surgery, 76% (32 horses) returned to racing, with 55% (23 horses) winning at least one race and almost half (46%, 12 horses) performing at the same or higher level.
• It was observed that horses with grades 2 to 4 MPICL tearing had noticeably lower net scores than those with grade 1 or no tearing at all.
• The severity of the subchondral bone damage alone was significantly correlated with the net score. Adding the grading of MPICL tearing to the bone damage greatly increased the accuracy of predicting postoperative performance.
• The addition of articular cartilage damage had no significant effect on predicting post-surgery performance.

Conclusions

• The research concluded that tears involving more than one third of the MPICL, as observed through arthroscopy, severely impact the post-surgery performance of racing horses.
• The severity of the tearing and the associated bone damage were better indicators of decreased postoperative performance in racing horses.