Radiological Evaluation of Juvenile osteochondral Conditions in Brazilian Warmblood Horse.

This research aimed to understand the prevalence and severity of changes in the joints of Brazilian warmblood foals due to a condition known as juvenile osteochondral condition. The study involved observing joint changes in 90 foals before they began their athlete training, using radiological evaluations. They found that 56 of the foals exhibited joint abnormalities, with certain joints presenting more severe changes than others.

Study Objectives and Methodology

In this study, the researchers set out to:

• Investigate the prevalence of juvenile osteochondral conditions, known as JOCC, in Brazilian warmblood (BW) foals, a condition associated with developmental alterations in the growth plates of young animals.
• Evaluate the degree of severity of these osteochondral changes in the specified breed of horses.
• Identify patterns and commonalities amongst horses with this condition.

In order to conduct their study, the researchers used:

• Radiological evaluation, a type of technology that applies radiation for the evaluation of structural conditions, on several joints of 90 BW foals aged 16-36 months.
• The joints that were investigated included the metacarpophalangeal (MCP), carpal (C), metatarsophalangeal (MTP), tarsal (T), and femorotibiopatellar (FTP) joints.

Findings of the Study

The study made a notable discovery that:

• 58% (56 out of 90 foals) showed evidence of JOCC with 105 individual affected joints.
• Of these 56 horses, 33 had changes in more than one joint, and almost two-thirds of these presented bilateral changes.
• The joints that showed the most severe alterations were the MTP and MCP joints.

The encountered changes were categorized into:

• Osteochondral fragments which were the most common changes observed, seen in 59% of the afflicted horses.
• Followed by tarsal arthropathies found in 48% of the cases, and irregularities and radiolucency in the FTP joint in 7% of the cases.
• Only in one case, a 1% was a subchondral cystic lesion in the FTP joint identified.

Implications and Recommendations

The research concluded that:

• There is a significant prevalence of JOCC in Brazilian warmblood foals, suggesting a need for further studies.
• Although MTP and T joints were the most affected, MTP and MCP presented the most severe changes.
• Given the high prevalence of this condition, research could be extended to different farm properties, evaluating a broader population of warmblood foals.