Weanling Stifle Abnormalities Can Improve by Yearling Year

Researchers found that many radiographic abnormalities resolve by the time weanlings return to the auction as yearlings.
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When buyers plan to spend tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars on a Thoroughbred racing prospect at an auction, they want to get the best horse for their money. So they’ll have a veterinarian inspect the horse and review his radiographs on file at the repository. Here, the owner is hoping for clean legs and joints, but occasionally the veterinarian will come across abnormalities. This often leads to lower purchase prices and a perception that those issues will negatively impact racing performance, but is this always the case? Not necessarily, researchers have learned. In fact, some might resolve before the horse even sets foot on a racetrack.

Deborah L. Spike-Pierce, DVM, of Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital, in Lexington, Kentucky, and colleagues recently determined, for instance, that many radiographic stifle abnormalities identified in sales weanlings resolve by the time those horses return to the auction ring as yearlings. She presented the results of that study at the 2016 American Association of Equine Practitioners Convention, held Dec. 3-7 in Orlando, Florida.

Spike-Pierce and colleagues evaluated 1,444 stifle radiographs from 722 Thoroughbred weanlings for osteochondrosis (OC)/osteochondrosis dissecans (OCD) in the femoropatellar joint—located between the femur and the joint surfaces of the patella ("knee cap")—and for changes in the medial femoral condyle (MFC, the bottom bulbous end of the femur). They examined the same horses’ radiographs when they returned to the sale as yearlings

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Erica Larson, former news editor for The Horse, holds a degree in journalism with an external specialty in equine science from Michigan State University in East Lansing. A Massachusetts native, she grew up in the saddle and has dabbled in a variety of disciplines including foxhunting, saddle seat, and mounted games. Currently, Erica competes in eventing with her OTTB, Dorado.

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