Management and assessment of prognosis after gastrocnemius disruption in Thoroughbred foals: 28 cases (1993-2007).
BACKGROUND
Few studies have evaluated the athletic prognosis of foals affected by gastrocnemius disruption.


OBJECTIVE
To examine the diagnosis and management of gastrocnemius disruption in Thoroughbred (TB) foals, determine short-term survival rate and assess future racing performance. The hypothesis was that Thoroughbred foals with gastrocnemius disruption are able to perform as racehorses comparably to their age matched maternal siblings.


METHODS
The medical records of foals diagnosed with gastrocnemius muscle disruption were reviewed. Information on training and racing was acquired from published works and race records. Paired t tests were utilised to compare performance variables of affected racehorses to their maternal siblings in starts, earnings and earnings/start for their 2- and 3-year-old racing seasons. Fisher's exact tests were employed to determine the association between sex, limb affected, age on admission, degree of caudal reciprocal apparatus dysfunction, concurrent disease, antibiotic therapy, complications, abscess formation and likelihood of entering training or starting a race.


RESULTS
Sample size was too small to detect significant differences in performance variables between affected horses and controls. Of 28 foals, 17 (61%) presented with concomitant illness; foals without concurrent disease were more likely to achieve race training or start a race (P = 0.04); 23 (82%) were short-term survivors defined as survival to discharge. Of these 23 survivors, 7 were aged <2 years at the time of the study. Eighty-one percent (13/16) of the survivors that were of racing age were in training or had started a race.


CONCLUSIONS
In this population, 82% of TB foals affected with gastrocnemius disruption were able to achieve training or start a race. Foals presenting for gastrocnemius disruption have a high prevalence of concurrent disease processes.


CONCLUSIONS
The assessment of athletic prognosis and treatment complications provides useful information to clinicians treating gastrocnemius muscle disruption in foals and making recommendations to clientele.
Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital, PO Box 12070, 2150 Georgetown Road, Lexington, Kentucky 40580, USA.
T M
TM
Tull
J B
JB
Woodie
A J
AJ
Ruggles
J R
JR
Reimer
R M
RM
Embertson
S A
SA
Hopper
L R
LR
Bramlage
D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D006734:Horse Diseases / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D006736:Horses; D008297:Male; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000293:injuries*; D009135:Muscular Diseases / Q000628:therapy / Q000662:veterinary*; D010805:Physical Conditioning, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome