Ann. Méd. Vét., 2008, 152 (3), pp 131-137 Prevalence of osteochondrosis in Warmblood horses in WalloniaVANDER HEYDEN L., SERTEYN D., CAUDRON I., VERWILGHEN D., DELIEGE B., LEJEUNE J.-P.Abstract :
Osteochondrosis (OC), a developmental
orthopaedic disease, is consecutive to a defect in the endochondral ossification process, and can result in formation of an osteochondral fragment
(osteochondrosis dissecans).
Our objective is to establish the
prevalence of osteochondrosis in Wallonia, and describe the main observed lesions. One hundred forty-two Warmblood horses, aged from 12 to 36
months, underwent a systematic X-ray examination. Sixty-three of these horses (44.4 %) presented one or more OC lesions, 46 (32.4 %) of them with an articular fragment.
This prevalence is similar to those observed in Dutch Warmblood horses (44.3 %). The localisation of the lesions was as follows: 25 (17.6 %) of the experimental group showed one or
more lesions in the hindlimbs fetlocks,
23 (16.2 %) in the hocks, 21 (14.8 %) in the stifles and 14 (9.9 %) in the forelimbs fetlocks.
The medial ridge of the talus is the most frequently injured anatomical
site in our study. This lesion was observed in 12 horses (8.4 %), a prevalence that is by far higher than those observed in Dutch Warmblood horses
(2.9 %). Not any significant difference
was observed between males and females.
The high prevalence and the clinical
and economic consequences of this disease in the horse’s industry fully justify further research in order to improve the understanding of its pathogenic process. Get the PDF Contact person : l.vanderheyden@ulg.ac.be |