Dissertationen 1996-2013
Diseases of the fetlock joint in Arabian horses
Bettina Schweike, 2005
Vetsuisse-Fakultät Universität Zürich, Pferdeklinik
Contact: gschmid@vetclinics.unizh.ch
The objective of the presented study was to closer examine the different diseases of the fetlock joint in Arabian horses.
Therefore information from 83 Arabian were evaluated.
Most of the animals were afflicted with a lameness in the front legs.
The majority of the horses suffered from deforming arthropathy. With increasing age of the animals, the frequency of disease affliction also increased. The fetlock joints in the front legs were particularly frequently affected by deforming arthropathy.
The second most frequent diagnosis affecting the fetlock joints was corpora libera. These occurred primarily in horses in the age group under five.
Concerning the frequency distribution, a fracture of the first phalanx was in third place. Chip fractures of the first phalanx were observed exclusively in the rear legs.
An additional diseases of the fetlock joint observed in several Arabian horses was sesamoidosis. This disease too was diagnosed more frequently in the front legs than the rear legs. The average age of these horses was over 12 years old.
Other diseases of the fetlock joint were only observed in a few individual animals. Based upon the fact that due to a lack of literature material a comparison to other breeds of horses could not be made, several equine specialists (clinic owners) were confronted with these results. Based upon their experience, no significant differences in the frequency of disease affliction could be established between Arabian and warmblood horses.
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