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  Discussion on Incidental finding on Pre-purchase
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Member:
judyhens

Posted on Tuesday, Dec 1, 2015 - 6:39 pm:

We are planning to import several horses from Europe. One is an 18 month old who is going through a growth spurt - croup is 5 cm higher than withers. She is from a line of qualified horses. To be qualified, they must have clean x-rays at age 5 or so and are allowed only 1 level 2 defect. Her parents, grandparents, great-grandparents are all fine. We had a ton of x-rays done on this filly and all were clean except the last one which showed a subchondral bone lesion on the left lateral trochlear ridge, which the vet said was level 2. Her impression is that she is likely to be fine and this is an incidental finding. She also feels she will likely pass qualification. All areas of conformation were normal. She was sound in small and large circles. Heart and lungs great, at rest and with exercise. She included the following remarks: No signs of discomfort of left stifle, full weight bearing, no muscle atrophy. All flexion tests were normal. Can be asymptomatic whole life... If symptomatic, treatment possible. Anyway, our sense is that this is not uncommon in yearlings. We don't want to pass on this filly needlessly. What is your thought about this?
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Wednesday, Dec 2, 2015 - 2:21 pm:

Hello Judy,
The advice you have been given is true to a point however there is a significant chance this lesion will affect performance and not all respond well to surgery:

Equine Vet J. 2013 Sep;45(5):578-81. doi: 10.1111/evj.12027. Epub 2013 Jan 24.
Do developmental orthopaedic disorders influence future jumping performances in Warmblood stallions?
Verwilghen DR1, Janssens S, Busoni V, Pille F, Johnston C, Serteyn D.
Author information

Abstract
REASONS FOR PERFORMING THE STUDY:
Few reports are available on the relationship between developmental orthopaedic diseases (DOD) and future performances in Warmblood horses.
OBJECTIVES:
To investigate the relationship between performance and the presence of DOD lesions.
METHODS:
Records of Warmblood stallions for which radiographic and performance data were available were collected. Showjumping performances were expressed as scores derived from the final ranking of horses in each competition. These scores are available in an established performance database. The relationship between radiographic findings and both performance scores and number of performances was analysed using a linear regression model.
RESULTS:
Two hundred and fifteen horses met the inclusion criteria. There was no difference in either the number of performances or performance score between horses categorised as affected with DOD lesions (independent of joint location) compared with controls. Significantly lower numbers of performances were recorded for horses with osteochondral fragments (OCD) located at the dorsal aspect of the sagittal ridge of the metacarpo/metatarsophalangeal bone. No significant difference was found between horses affected with DOD lesions of the tarsocrural joint and controls. Horses with osteochonDrOsis of the lateral trochlear ridge of the femur had both significantly lower performance scores and numbers of performances compared with controls.
CONCLUSION:
This study demonstrated that specific DOD location and site within the joint have an influence on performance. Osteochondral fragments in the femoropatellar and at the dorsal aspect of the sagittal ridge of the metacarpo/metatarsophalangeal joint resulted in lowered performance. Fragmentation in the tarsocrural joint had no influence on performance.
POTENTIAL RELEVANCE:
The future athletic performance of Warmblood jumping horses may be limited as a result of OCD in the femoropatellar joint and to a certain extent the metacarpo/metatarsophalangeal joint.

For breeding this should be considered a very significant fault.
DrO
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