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delayed for 2 weeks after the horse showed discomfort when work under saddle was first recommenced. No horses were subjected to euthanasia due to wither
fracture. Four horses in total retired from racing due to reasons not associated with wither fracture. Two of these cases were retired due to osteoarthritis of the front fetlock joints and injury to the withers may have caused abnormal loading of the forelimb joints, hence contributing to the onset or worsening of arthritis. However, as fetlock joint disease is relatively common in racehorses (Reed et al. 2012), further investigation is required to determine whether DSP injury leads to altered loading of the forelimbs. One horse was retired from racing for persistent poor performance. There was no indication in the horse’s clinical history to suggest any medical reason pertaining to the withers was a direct cause of the horse’s poor performance and the horse had not raced prior to the injury, thus making a comparison of performance impossible. In the event of injury to a Thoroughbred racehorses, there
is often pressure from owners and trainers to reduce the number of nontraining days. Priority is placed on a rapid return to exercise and the resumption of full work after the injury. Therefore, data that demonstrate that shorter convalescence periods for an injury results in successful outcomes are useful. This study shows that racehorses that suffer fracture of the DSP of the withers have an excellent prognosis for return to racing at a level equivalent to or better than prior to the injury. While the prevalence of this type of injury is low, this study identified that a realistic time frame for return to full training in cases that are not affected by complications is 3 months.
Authors’ declaration of interests No conflicts of interest have been declared.
Manufacturers’ addresses
1StataCorp, College Station, Texas, USA. 2Ashton Pharmaceuticals Limited, Lancaster, Lancashire, UK.
3Troy Laboratories PTY Limited, Glendenning, New South Wales,
Australia. 4Intervet Australia PTY Limited, Bendigo East, Victoria, Australia.
References
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