DEVELOPMENT ORTHOPEDIC DISEASES

The nutrition for your pregnant mare and impending foal are critical to having a healthy newborn! And the feeding regimen you set up for the foal's growth and its future potential are equally important.

You can see more about recommended feeding programs on our Feeding Foals page. It is critical that nutrients be present in adequate amounts and balanced with each other for optimal growth and development. Feeding the foal even while still nursing must also still maintain that balance since the mare's milk reduces in its nutrient value and will not fully meet the growing foal's requirements.

There are many reasons why this is so important but along with thse new arrivals comes a renewed cncern of the nutritional needs as they are related to bone development. Developmental Orthopedic Disease - often referred to as DOD, is a term used to indicate ny abnormality in skeltal maturation of the growing horse.The following are some of the common orthopedic concerns.

• Ephysitis is simply an inflammation of the physis or growth plates in the maturing skeleton. Although any growth plate may be affected, it is most commonly seen in the ankles and knees. It will typically appear as swollen bumps on the front and toward the top of the affected joint. These bumps may be hot and may cause lameness, but often do not.
• Osteochondrosis is a disorder involving the maturation of bone. Many breeders are familiar with this (also known as OCD) resulting from overfeeding and imbalances in nutrients). It manifests itself as a defect or absence of mineralization of bone developing under cartilage. When this occurs under articular cartilage, the cartilage itself may wrinkle or tear, often resulting in lameness. These defects or lesions in the bone may also lead to small fractures, resulting in bone fragments or chips breaking off into the joint capsule. This too has the protential to cause lameness.
• Angular Limb Deformities are severe deviations in the leg conformation of the new foal. Foals are generally weak in their legs at birth. However, foals foals suffering from angular limb deformities will experience obvious deviations that will not improve with age and strength. These deviations may include knock-kneed or bow-legged and severly upright pasterns such that the foal almost stands on his toes or even knuckles over. These abnormalities may occur in the front, rear or both sets of legs.
• Wobbler Syndrome is due to abnormal maturation, similar to Osteochondrosis, of the cervical vertebrae that results in compression of the spinal cord. This causes pain and incoordination of gait. Similar symptoms can be the result of trauma, parasite infestation or infection with equine rhinopneumonitis virus. We will need to examine the foal for proper diagnosis and treatment.

While research conducted on the cause of these DOD's has been extensive, strict conclusions as to how to totally prevent their occurrence is lacking. It is commonly accepted that many factors may be involved in causing these problems including genetics, nutritional imbalances, management and trauma. These disorders are often seen in bigger foals growing at rapid rates, kept in confinement, subjected to forced excercise and provided diets with nutritional imbalances, deficiencies or excesses.

Contact our office to set up a feeding and vaccination program for your equine family!

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