Horse's Legs. Flashcards
Windgalls primarily affect the
Synovial Structures around the fetlock joint.
Examples of structures effected by windgalls
Tendon Sheath, Joint Capsules, Synovial Membrane
Front Pastern Angle
45 Degres
Hind Pastern Angle
55 degrees
Broken Back
Toe too long and slopes more than the pastern.
Broken Forward
Toe Short and Heel High
Plantar Tarscal Ligament =
Curbs
Overstraight Hind Limb
Limits movement and increases stifle, Hock and suspensory ligament injuries
Flexor tendons include the
SDFT and DDFT
Bone Spavin is
osteoarthritis of the lower hock joints
Most horses with bone spavin will
show significant improvement in the degree of
lameness in response to the
injection of local
anaesthetic into the tarsometatarsal joint.
Tenosynovitis of the horse’s tarsal sheath is also known as
thoroughpin
Thoroughpin is typically unilateral and considered to be a consequence of trauma to the
DDFT within the sheath or to the sheath lining itself.
Bone Spavins are common in confirmations which cause uneven loading of the hocks
Sickle Hocks, Cow Hocks
Shoeing Bone Spavin
Assist breakover (rolled toes/wedge pads) or heal suport egg bar shoes.
Ligament composed of
collagen fibres
Articular Windgall
Fetlock of the fore or hind limb joint capcule between the suspensory ligament and the cannon bone
(OCD)
Cyclinal movement of
synovial fluid ensure sound joints
Foot Xrays you might need
Needle to show angles
Sidebone is the
ossification of lateral cartiliages.
Calcium laid down uneilt bone and then cannot absorb movement
Kissing Spines graded
1 to 4
Ultrasound takes
slices of the limb
MRI shows
articulated surface and every layer.
Suspensory Ligament: The suspensory ligament is a key structure that supports the
fetlock joint and prevents excessive downward movement of the joint.
Chronic progressive lymphedema (CPL) is a disease of some
breeds of draft horse, whereby the lower legs becomes progressively more swollen.
Ringbone, defined simply as progressive
arthritic change that affects the pastern and/or coffin joints (high and low ringbone, respectively), can occur in one or multiple limbs
Horses with upright pasterns or that tend to have an extreme variation, either a valgus (a limb deviating outward from midline) or varus (deviating inward) deformity where they’re collapsing one side of the joint space
can lead to arthritic changes and as such ringbone
Most common cause of ringbone is
working on hard surfaces from a young age and injuries to the joint’s cartilage and/or ligaments that lead to osteoarthritic changes in the joint
Ringbone - Paying close attention to hoof angles can help.
A hoof angle that’s excessively upright or excessively low can be problematic for these cases.
An upright hoof capsule doesn’t absorb concussion well and transmits vibratory forces up the limb.
When angles are too low, it’s hard to create a nice alignment with your horse’s bony column (the coffin and pastern bones).”
Shoes for horses with ringbone should
promote easy breakover
Where a tendon crosses a joint it is protected by a
synovial sheath and supported by the annular ligament
3 Stages of healing Tendon and Ligaments
Damaged tissues is removed by white blood cells, Collagen has poor blood supply so this is slow
Fibroblasts migrate to the area to produce new collagen
Scare or granulation tissues is then remodelled
Over time, horses with a club foot that goes untreated or that fails to improve to a “normal” state might
Coffin joint pain
Long Back, Short Croup
. This conformation is a benefit for certain athletes—it allows them to jump higher. But for this conformation to work for horses, they require proper strengthening or they might be prone to injury. “At the start of every ride, walk these horses for 15 minutes,”
“This allows the joints (of the spine) to lubricate and signals to the horse’s system that it is time to work.”
Veterinarians sometimes attribute stifle laxity to the way a horse’s femur (“thigh”) and tibia come together—
too straight an angle
Look for the following when evaluating a horse’s head.
Bright, bold, wide set eyes
Ears set slightly below the poll
A lower jaw that is clearly defined and well separated underneath the jaw
Large nostrils
A clean throatlatch without heavy fat and muscling
Shoulder angle
40 -55 degrees
A wide chest (from the front) allows for
good stamina, endurance and lung capacity.
Good chest and rib form leads to strong leg, shoulder and neck attachment, which creates a powerful athletic performer.
Over at the knee does not
put strain on flexor tendons
Fetlocks large and flat
to allow joint movement
Long forearm increases amount of
ground covered by each stride
Slab sided horses
limited space for internal organs
Pigeon Chested
Chest Bulging forward
tied in below the knee , where the leg is narrower directly underneath the knee than it is further down. This can
restrict the movement of the tendons.
Lateral ridges around the hoof wall can indicate
lami
Compared to trotting in hand with the addition of a rider the vertical GRF is increased in the forelimbs
to a greater degree than in the hind limbs
In horses with uneven feet vertical ground reaction force maximal horizontal braking and vertical displacement are higher on the side
with the flatter foot
“High ringbone refers to the condition when it affects the
Pastern
low ringbone refers to the condition when it affects the
coffin
COLD-HOSING – cold-hosing removes heat by
conduction. How much heat is removed and how quickly is determined by how cold the water is, the flow-rate of the water and how long you hose for. The most heat will be removed by hosing for a long time, with very cold water from a high flow-rate hose.
BOOTS THAT ARE SOAKED IN WATER – boots that are soaked in water and which have a gel inside to absorb and hold water cool mainly by
evaporation. There is an initial transfer of heat from the skin to the boot by conduction which depends on the difference in temperature between skin and boot when the boot is applied. So soaking a water boot in ice-cold water before application will increase the rate of heat removal. Further cooling is then achieved by evaporation of the water. The effectiveness with which these type of boots cool is highly dependent on the climate. When it is hot, dry and breezy they work well. When it is high humidity and low temperature they are ineffective.
BOOTS THAT ARE PLACED IN THE FREEZER – boots that are placed in the freezer or have ice packs inserted into them cool by
conduction
DJD look out for
Lameness (may not be obvious if more than one limb is affected)
Stiffness
Pain on flexion/decreased joint mobility
Joint swelling
New bone formation
Muscle wastage
Weight loss
Handling issues/changes (for example uncharacteristic resistance to leg handling)
Cartrophen Vet contains
Pentosan Polysulphate Sodium, a semi-synthetic polymer.
PAAG significantly alleviated lameness and joint effusion in osteoarthritic joints. PAAG is a safe and lasting
(at least 24 months) OA treatment in horses. PAAG is a promising new treatment for OA in horses.
Tildren/OsPhos break down osteoclasts so prevent
bone breakdown occurring which is beneficial for arthritis (less so for young horses)
Cartrophen works to prevent further cartilage degeneration and
support fluid regeneration
Why do we use pads?
- Maximise the horses performance
- Minimise concussion
- Protection
What are the main types of pads?
Leather, Plasters , Ibex Frog Suppot, Equi-Pak
Packing material
Equi-pak – it can be used to pack underneath pads, i.e. graduated leather pads.
Dental impression material (DIM)- Offers great support and cushioning. I often mix copper sulphate granules in, to help combat bacteria.
Magic cushion – shredded leather with a mixture of oils bonded together. It forms a tar-like consistency and is great for drawing out bruising.
Hoof matrix – shredded leather with a combination of oils such as eucalyptus and T- tree. It has great antibacterial properties.
“Wedge pads, for example, can be used to artificially raise the
hoof angle
Wedges can be used to provide support and relieve tension on tendons and ligaments. In cases of tendon or ligament injuries, such as
deep digital flexor tendon (DDFT) injuries or suspensory ligament issues, wedges may be utilized to alter the angle of the hoof and reduce strain on the affected structures during the healing process.
Compensation for Conformational Abnormalities: Horses with conformational abnormalities, such as a
club foot or angular limb deformities, may benefit from wedges to help compensate for the imbalance or deviation in limb structure. The wedges can help provide better alignment and improve the horse’s overall movement and comfort.
Frog support pads help horses that need bony column support, such as
lami horse
Horses head pretty much mature at
6
