2017 Volume 70 Issue 5 Pages 297-302
A retrospective study based on a questionnaire of thoroughbred breeders in Hokkaido was performed to reveal which developmental orthopedic diseases (DOD) have influenced management and racing performance. A variety of DOD were reported to us, and in particular wobbler syndrome, osteochondritis dissecans in the proximal joint, physitis, axial/flexural limb deformities, and subchondral cystic lesions had a negative influence on the prognosis of young horses. The first race for horses with a clinical history of sesamoiditis, tendonitis, or colic surgery was significantly delayed compared with that of horses with no history. On the other hand, few answers reported serious problems as a result of orthopedic lesions in the distal joint, which are frequently observed in pre-purchase examinations, thus we suspected that these lesions would not show critical symptoms in the training phase.
