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A R T H R I T I S
5
EQUINE MATTERS
Arthritis
Veterinary Surgeon
Egbert Willems
XLVets Equine Practice
Cliffe Equine Clinic
Egbert Willems DVM CertES(Orth) MRCVS,
Cliffe Equine Clinic
A
rthritis is a very common condition with potentially severe consequences
in the horse. Stemming from the Greek, arthro, meaning joint and itis,
inflammation, it is a condition that results in inflammation and pain of the
equine joint. All joints can be affected, so it is not exclusively a condition of the
equine limb. The head, neck, back and pelvis are other parts of the horse that
can be affected. The most common form of arthritis in the horse is osteoarthritis
(OA), which commonly causes heat and swelling of the joint, and the pain
may result in lameness or poor performance. Another common form is septic
arthritis, when a (penetrating) injury results in infection of a joint, which can be
a life threatening situation.
The disease is essentially one acquired
from daily wear and tear of the joint.
Osteoarthritis begins in the cartilage,
which slowly degrades and eventually
leads to the two opposing bones
eroding into each other.
Many contributing factors are considered in
equine arthritis, but one of the most important
factors could be repetitive, concussive trauma.
As with humans, an increased bodyweight
could exacerbate this. Occasionally a one-off
traumatic incident could also cause arthritis if
it damages the cartilage or subchondral bone
of the joint.
Signs of arthritis
Arthritis results in pain, and is therefore
thought to be the most common cause of
lameness in the equine athlete. As the
articular cartilage itself has no sensory
innervation, the pain originates from the
bone underlying the cartilage (subchondral
bone) and the soft tissues surrounding the
joint (the joint capsule and ligaments).
Besides the lameness, other symptoms
may be observed such as:
●
Pain, stiffness and swelling around a
joint (Figure 1)
●
Reduced range of motion
●
Increased time to warm up for exercise
●
Decreased/poor performance and
general lethargy (not tracking up)
●
A change in joint conformation
(bony lumps)
Figure 1:
Swelling around the
pastern joint
What causes
arthritis?