Patella Infections in Foals Require Prompt Care (AAEP 2011)

Patella infections in foals, while uncommon, can result in prolonged and severe stifle joint infection.
Share
Favorite
Close

No account yet? Register

ADVERTISEMENT

Call the vet, or wait and see? When concerned about a foal’s health–particularly when infections are suspected–waiting is never a good idea. Osteomyelitis in young foals, for instance, requires immediate treatment, as Alastair Kay, BVSc, MS, Dipl. ACVS, MRCVS, equine surgeon at Minister Equine Clinic, in North Yorkshire, U.K., relayed at the 2011 American Association of the Equine Practitioners convention, held Nov. 18-22 in San Antonio, Texas.

"Osteomyelitis is an infection of either bone or bone and cartilage combined," Kay explained. "If infection develops in bone and/or cartilage close to joints, the chances of achieving a high-level athletic exercise may be poor, particularly if the infection is aggressive, a large area is involved, or if treatment is initially delayed."

Osteomyelitis is relatively common in young foals less than 4 weeks old, and it can affect all bones of the skeleton. Long bones such as the cannon bone, small bones such as in the lower hock or knee joints, or bones within the foot are most commonly affected.

"Infection of the patella (equivalent to the knee cap in humans) is uncommon in foals, but when it happens can result in prolonged and severe stifle joint infection," added Kay

Create a free account with TheHorse.com to view this content.

TheHorse.com is home to thousands of free articles about horse health care. In order to access some of our exclusive free content, you must be signed into TheHorse.com.

Start your free account today!

Already have an account?
and continue reading.

Share

Written by:

Stacey Oke, MSc, DVM, is a practicing veterinarian and freelance medical writer and editor. She is interested in both large and small animals, as well as complementary and alternative medicine. Since 2005, she’s worked as a research consultant for nutritional supplement companies, assisted physicians and veterinarians in publishing research articles and textbooks, and written for a number of educational magazines and websites.

Related Articles

Stay on top of the most recent Horse Health news with

FREE weekly newsletters from TheHorse.com

Sponsored Content

Weekly Poll

sponsored by:

Where do you primarily feed your horse?
305 votes · 305 answers

Readers’ Most Popular

Sign In

Don’t have an account? Register for a FREE account here.

Need to update your account?

You need to be logged in to fill out this form

Create a free account with TheHorse.com!