title: Prevalence of osteochondral fragments, osteochondrosis dissecans and palmar/plantar osteochondral fragments in Hanoverian Warmblood horses.
abstract: In this study, the prevalences of osteochondral fragments in the distal (DUI) and proximal interphalangeal joints (PIJ) as well as in the fetlock, hock and stifle joints, of palmar/plantar osteochondral fragments in the fetlock joints (POFs) and of osteochondrosis dissecans (OCD) in fetlock, hock and stifle joints were estimated in a large sample of Hanoverian Warmblood horses. For this purpose, radiographic findings of 9478 Hanoverian Warmblood horses collected from 2005 to 2011 were analyzed. Overall 31.9% of the horses showed one or more osteochondral fragments in at least one joint. The fetlocks were predominantly affected with a prevalence of 19.7%, followed by the hocks with 8.2% and the stifles with 2.7%. For OCD, an overall prevalence of 14.3% was determined. In fetlock joints, 5.4% of the horses had OCD, in the hock joints 6.9% and in the stifle joints 2.6%, with bilateral occurrence in 25.8% of the hock, 24.9% of the stifle and 12.6% of the fetlock joints. POFs were observed in 6.8% of the horses. With a prevalence of 6.3%, the hindlimbs were significantly more frequently affected than the forelimbs with 0.6%. Of the horses with POFs, 16.5% were also affected with OCD. The high prevalences for osteochondral fragments determined in this study show their great importance with regard to economics and animal welfare.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Animal Breeding and Genetics, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover (Foundation), Germany.
authors.forename: Dorothea
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hilla
authors.forename: Ottmar
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Distl
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D006734:Horse Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology; D006736:Horses; D007596:Joints / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D008662:Metacarpophalangeal Joint / Q000473:pathology; D008683:Metatarsophalangeal Joint / Q000473:pathology; D010008:Osteochondritis Dissecans / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000662:veterinary*; D015995:Prevalence; D013264:Stifle / Q000473:pathology; D013643:Tarsus, Animal / Q000473:pathology; D014033:Toe Joint / Q000473:pathology