Cause:
The most important reason is probably a too rapid growth of the foal where the ossifying of the cartilage can't keep up with the growth. Besides that there isn't enough load or too much load of the joints, as a foal, that can possibly cause osteochondrosis. Also heredity appears to have an obvious role whereby the inheritance for height measurement (and so the growth) is probably the most important.
Another environmental factor that plays a part is the food, whereby the shortage of some nutrients and minerals seem to increase the chance for osteochondrosis.
Symptoms:
Mostly these horses have had one or more engorgements of the relevant joint. If there's a loose piece at a nasty place in the joint, or roams loose in the joint, than the chance is relativly high that the horse will walk crippled because of this.
But osteochondrosis can occur completely asymptomatic and will be, to great disappointement of the owner and vet, discovered for the first time during a radiographic examination.
Diagnosis and treatment:
Osteochondrosis can only be established on x-ray.
Loose pieces can be surgically removed with the help of arthroscopy. They make 2 - 3 small incisions (0;5 cm big) in the joint. With the help of a camera and small instruments these loose pieces get removed and potential coarsening of the bone gets smoothened.
After this surgery there is always a period of movement restriction necessary to give the joint to the chance to recover and adapt to the new situation. So resting in the stable and maybe some controled movement are adviced. The duration of this depends of the joint and varies from several weeks (for example the pastern) to a half year (severe forms of osteochondrosis in the knee and tarsal joint).
Prognosis:
Dependable of the place and size of the piece, the prognosis is moderately favourable to favourable. Here applies, the younger the horse (and so the shorter the piece could damage the joint) the better the prognosis. Also because such a joint has the possibility during the further growth to compensate potential damage. Of the smaller osteochondrosis that are operated at a younger age, at the age of 3 there is often nothing more to see radiographically. If the joint has been engorged for a longer period of time, than there is a chance that the joint capsule adapted itself to this size. Because of this the joint will stay more or less engorged after the surgery.
Prevention:
Besides stallion and mare selection for breeding (among other things the expected heigth of the foal), its sufficient nurture (a.o. mare's milk) of good quality and a lot of (unhindered) freedom of movement during the rearing are of great importance for the prevention.
Probably it's favourable to offer fast growing foals extra nutrients for the growth in the form of special developped nurture and/or nutrient supplements. Unfortunately until now the effects of this haven't been examined enough. Probably applies: it doesn't hurt to try, maybe only financially.
With any doubt of the presence of osteochondrosis, for example with an engorgement of the joint, we recommend you to examen this at a young age (preferavly at the age of 1 year). For a potential sale applies that a horse that has been operated and has been asymptomatic for 3-6 months, will mostly be fully accepted by the insurance.
» Scientific info » Osteochondrosis
