Lame - Equine acute foot problems Flashcards
What does bruising of the hoof look like?
Reddening of the hoof wall or sole
What are two types of cracks in hooves? What are they?
Grass cracks - up wall
Sand cracks - grow down from coronary band after injury
Where do swellings/depressions in the hoof occur?
At the coronary band
What causes depressions at the coronary band?
Laminitis - sinking of the extensor process of P3
What is thrush?
Destructive lesion of the hoof - fusebacterium
What can cause thickening of the white line in horses?
Laminitis
What is divergence in the equine hoof?
Growth lines on the hoof wall as they grow from the coronary band
Should be parallel
May be rasped off at the bottom by farrier
What can you palpate the coronary band for?
Depression - sinking of P3
Effusion of DIP joint
Hoof abcess tracking up - painful area
What is a grass crack?
Crack that is going up from the solar edge (like a blade of grass growing out the ground)
What is a sand crack?
Crack going down from the coronary band
What can you do to stop a grass crack moving up the wall of the hoof?
Avoid horseshoe clips put in that area
Rasp a horizontal line across it to interrupt the crack
What can you do to treat a sand crack coming down from the coronary band?
Reduce load on that area by shortening, shoeing
What are the 3 synovial structures in the equine hoof?
Navicular bursa
Distal interphalangeal joint (coffin)
Digital flexor tendon sheath
What are the key nerve blocks for the hoof?
Palmar/plantar digital
Abaxial sesamoid
What is the key joint block that you need to know how to do?
DIP joint
Where is the navicular bursa located?
Distal to the navicular bone
What other structures can cross react with a navicular bursa block?
Communicates with the DIP joint
What is a common cause of sepsis in the navicular bursa?
Solar puncture wound
Is the navicular bursa injection easy?
No, it is difficult - but can be done with experience, ultrasound or radiographic guided
Also can treat via DIP joint if both affected
What should you do to prepare equine hooves for radiograph?
Remove mud, shoes, and flaky sole
Pack frog with playdoh
Why do you pack frog with playdoh for radiographs?
Because it gives an artefact over the radiograph otherwise - flattens the surface to all one colour
Where do you apply markers on hooves for radiographs?
Dorsal hoof wall
Coronary band
Point of frog
What position do you use for P3 lateromedial radiograph?
Hoof weight bearing on block
Cassette against medial aspect of limb on the ground
Beam on mid coronary band
What do you use hoof wall markers for?
Evaluating rotation or sinking of the hoof on radiograph
What should all be parallel on lateromedial radiograph of the hoof?
Dorsal hoof wall
Dorsal P3
Heel
Pastern
Where should the centre of the ark of the distal interphalangeal joint be on radiograph?
Vertically over middle of hoof and point of frog
What does broken forward mean?
Dorsal hoof wall angle is pointing further forward than the angle of the pastern
What angle should the solar surface of P3 be from the the sole of the hoof?
5-10 degrees
What shape should the tip of P3 be?
A point, not a ski slope - this would suggest chronic P3 pathology
What is the positioning for dorsopalmar radiograph of a hoof?
Weight bearing on block - square to beam
Cassette on palmar aspect of limb
Beam parallel to the ground centred at coronary band
What features can you look at on dorsopalmar radiograph of a hoof?
Mediolateral imbalance - difference between P3 and sole
Hoof wall flare
What structures can often be mistaken for abnormal pathology?
Vascular channels - normal
What is the dorsoproximal palmaro-distal oblique view radiograph of a hoof used to look at?
Solar margin of P3
Dorsal navicular bone
What positioning do you use for the dorsoproximal palmaro-distal oblique view radiograph of a hoof?
Weight bearing with foot stood on tunnel that you slide the cassette into
Beam 2cm above coronary band at 60 degree angle from cassette
What do you change when you want to focus on P3 or navicular bone?
Increase exposure
Reduce collimation
Decrease angle by 5 degrees
What is the crena?
Midline P3 margin - variable appearance
What is the dorsolateral-palmaromedial oblique radiograph of a hoof?
Same as the dorsoproximal palmaro-distal oblique view radiograph of a hoof but moved 45 degrees lateral to medial
What is the dorsolateral-palmaromedial oblique radiograph of a hoof useful for?
Assessing pedal wings, DIP joint and symmetry
What is the palmaroproximal-palmarodistal oblique radiograph of the hoof?
Navicular skyline:
Limb extended caudally while weight bearing on cassette in tunnel
Beam into divot at back of pastern avoiding the fetlock
What structures does the palmaroproximal-palmarodistal oblique radiograph of the hoof show?
Navicular bone
P3 - particularly wings
What does transcutaneous view ultrasound show? What can you see?
MRI used more now
Collateral ligament of DIP
DIP joint effusion
DDFT can be seen between heel bulbs
How do you do a solar view ultrasound through the frog of a hoof?
Difficult, not really done much now
Lots of preparation, soak hoof for hours