Risks For Grass Founder Researchers at the Royal Veterinary College conducted a prospective cohort study of risk factors for the development of pasture associated laminitis (PAL, also called grass founder) among ponies with no previous history of laminitis.

Treating Extensor Process Fractures While many fragments off the extensor process of the coffin bone are not associated with lameness, large fragments that involve the articular surface can cause problems and require treatment.

Using a cross-sectional survey of 942 randomly selected horses in the Netherlands, Dutch researchers described hoof health and the most common disorders discovered during routine hoof trimming. Several management factors were also analyzed to identify potential risk factors for the hoof problems of interest.

Resveratrol, a natural substance found in grape skins and other plants, is thought to have anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory properties.

Asymmetry In Polo Horses In the United Kingdom, researchers examined movement asymmetry in-hand at the trot in 60 polo horses using wireless inertial measurement devices attached to the poll and pelvis. The horses were selected from those actively in training at three different operations.

Researchers studied the specific lamellar pathology associated with laminitis caused by equine Cushing’s disease, also called pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID). Hooves of 26 horses and ponies were collected following euthanasia or processing for slaughter and divided into those with signs of PPID and laminitis, those with PPID and no clinical signs of laminitis and controls with no clinical signs of PPID or laminitis. Hoof tissues were examined microscopically and circulating insulin, cortisol and glucose were measured.

A postmortem study examined the records of 241 horses at least 15 years old that died following admission to a veterinary teaching hospital over a 10-year period to investigate their causes of death, including the relationship to pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID).

Conference Short Highlights The American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine recently published several abstracts of their annual meeting related to two endocrine disorders:

Joint Injections Compared Joint injections using corticosteroids, hyaluronic acid (HA) or a combination of the two are commonly used to treat synovitis and arthritis in performance horses. In this study, researchers compared the efficacy of one type of corticosteroid (triamcinolone acetate, TA) with and without HA for the treatment of lameness, localized to one limb only that responded to a diagnostic joint block. Eighty horses of various breeds were enrolled in the study with follow-up at 3 weeks by re-examining the horses and 3 months by an owner questionnaire. No other medications were permitted during the first 3 weeks of follow-up.

IV Tildren for Navicular Syndrome The efficacy of administering the injectable bisphosphonate medication for horses (Tildren) in two different ways was evaluated for the treatment of navicular syndrome. Twelve horses diagnosed with bilateral navicular syndrome were randomly assigned to receive Tildren either systemically by intravenous injection or by using regional limb perfusion, where the drug is “back-flushed” directly into the blood vessels of the lower limb so that it is delivered to the lower limb and hoof in a more direct, concentrated manner.