AGR 315
Equine Osteochondrosis Exercise intolerance in equines is defined as a . One intolerance often seen in younger, performance prospect horses is the development of osteochondrosis lesions and osteochondrosis dissecans. There are a wide variety of theories to what exactly causes the development of these lesions but observably osteochondrosis is endochondral tissue that has failed to properly ossify thus creating abnormal cartilage on the bone, often seen in joints. (Kane, 2012) Of the many theories proposed on the topic, special focus should be given to the nutritional implications, effects of various training programs, and the genetic inheritance factor.
Nutrition is critical to the health and performance of horses and …show more content…
While training programs are not directly a cause of osteochondrosis, they have a tendency to aggravate the existing lesions. During the first few months, and even up to a year or further, the remodeling process of the musculoskeletal is critical and goes through very intense changes. In respect to training, this becomes a factor as the loading and motion of certain forms of exercise seen in the various equine disciplines may disrupt the proper remodeling and repair cycle of development (Barneveld, et …show more content…
Osteochondrosis is a significant developmental disorder, often associated with young horses, with importance put on the nutrition of the mare in foal and developing foal, the training protocols of horses, especially those known to have osteonchondrosis lesions and dissecans, and the genetics of breeding stallions and mares for further developmental integrity of foals. While treatment options are available through use of surgery, or simply turning the horse out to further develop and allow the body to correct itself. The understanding of osteochondrosis is important to the horse industry but still needs further research to fully understand just how heavily weighted that importance will