What is Shin Buck?

(AKA Bucked shins or shin splints)

What are Shivers?

What types of horses are generally affected?

A neuromuscular disease of the hind limb.

Stallions, Geldings and draft horses.

What are signs of shivers?

During what type of movement is shivers generally noted?

- The tail quivers and the hind leg is raised quickly upward for several seconds or minutes.

- Most often observed when attempting to move a horse backwards.

What is a shoe boil?

How does it affect the horse?

- It is a false bursitis of the point of the elbow.

- It does not affect the use of the horse. It is considered a blemish.

- A large swelling at the point of the elbow that may or may not be tender.

- A horse lying down with the heel of an extended shoe irritating the elbow

How many bones and joints are there in the hock?

What are the joints?

What are the bones?

- The hock, or tarsus, has 6 bones and 4 joints

- Joint between tibia and the talus

- Joint between the talus/calcaneus and central tarsal

- Joint between the central tarsal and 1st, second and third tarsals

- Joint between the 1-2-3 tarsals and the cannon bone

- The talus bone

- the calcaneus bone

- the central tarsal bone

- 1st and second tarsals (fused, considered 1 bone)

- 3rd tarsal

What causes a bog spavin?

What are the most common conformation faults that may result in bog spavin forming?

- Usually faulty conformation faults aggravated by strains and sprains from strenuous activity.

- Straight legged or sickle hocked

- 3 specific places on the hock.

- 2 smaller swellings may appear on the lateral and medial edges of the palmar hock.

- A larger swelling may appear on the medial/cranial aspect of the hock.

What is a bone spavin?

Which bone is most commonly affected?

- New bone growth on any of the tarsal bones.

- The central tarsal bone is most commonly affected.

What is an occult or blind spavin?

How will the horse react?

- Bone growth that does not appear on radiographs, generally because it is located on the central portion of the bone, covered by other bones in the joint, making it difficult to see.

- The horse will show clinical signs of spavin.

- It frequently develops in mature horses that are ridden hard, horses that jump, and horses used in Western disciplines.

- Horses with faulty conformation (cow and sickle hocks)used in the above

- Radiographs are needed for a specific diagnosis.

- A gradual onset of lameness

- Refusal to work in the discipline

- Hock pain shortens height of the foot arc, leading to the toe dragging, thus squaring the toe.

- In conjunction with a veterinarian

- Shoe for the faulty conformation if needed.

- Provide for easier breakover.

- In an arena setting, consider Denoix asymmetrical shoes.

- An extosis (bony growth) occurring between the splint bone (2nd/medial or 4th/lateral metacarpal/tarsal) and the cannon bone.

What is a blind splint?

What is a green splint?

- A blind splint refers to a splint that is difficult to detect because it occurs on the medial (inner) aspect of the splint bone.

- A green splint describes a new or 'active' splint.

What causes a splint?

Where are splints most commonly found?

- A tear in the interosseus ligament and the body's attempt to repair it.

- On the medial aspect of the cannon bone on the front legs.

- About three inches below the carpal joint.

- They most often occur with young horses.

- Occasionally 2 to 4 year old horses undergoing heavy training.

- Hard training on hard surfaces

- Poor conformation

- Improper hoof care

- Kicks

- Limb interference.

- An involuntary and spastic flexion of the lateral extensor muscle of the hind leg while the horse is moving forward.

- The hocks are flexed suddenly and violently upward toward the abdomen. The legs are brought down in a quick, aggresive manner striking the ground noisily.

What is a suspensory sprain?

How is it diagnosed?

- A strain of the branches, at the point of bifurcation or in the middle or top of the suspensory ligament.

- A veterinarian must inspect the leg. Visualization and palpitation of the area, confirmed with an ultrasound.

- Branch strains form medial or lateral twisting of the lower limb when landing on uneven ground.

- An improperly leveled shoe or foot.

- In conjunction with a veterinarian, a brace may be fashioned to support the fetlock.

- Dropping the heels may be necessary.

- Chronic cases working in arenas will be helped by a shoe with a wide toe and a narrow heel.

- A distension of the sheath of the DDFT resulting in a swelling just above the point of the hock.

- In short, it is a windpuff of the hock.

What causes a thoroughpin?

What type of defect is it?

- Usually a trauma such as bumping or kicking.

- It is considered a blemish.

- Thrush is a degenrative condition of the frog involving the central sulcus and the lateral sulci (commissures.)

- Thrush itself is an anaerobic bacteria present in the intestinal tract of a horse.

- A horse that is kept in unhygienic conditions.

- Feet are not regularly cleaned

- Stalls are not cleaned

- Feet packed with manure

- An increased amount of moisture and a black discharge from the sulci of the frog.

- The discharge will have a foul odor.

- Cleaned sulci will be deeper than normal, and may extend into sensitive areas of the foot.

- The horse may be lame if sensitive structures are affected

- The frog may be undermined and large areas may need to be removed due to detachment from underlying frog.

- The foot will show signs of infection similar to a neglected puncture wound.

- Cleanliness

- Removal of the cause

- Return of the frog and hoof to normal conformation and condition.

- The foot should be cleaned daily.

- Exposure to air and light to kill bacteria

- Pare sole and frog until all necrotic material is removed and the lateral sulci are easily accessible for cleaning

- Apply dilute bleach or other antiseptics daily after cleaning

What is upper fixation of the patella?

What is a common name?

- An upper fixation of the patella occurs when the patella gets fixed onto the top of medial ridge of the trochlea on the distal femur by being caught between the medial and middle patellar ligaments.

- The horse is said to be 'stifled.'

- Due to conformation, either a steep angle between the tibia and femur, or a horse with very straight hind limbs, the patellar ligaments can become stretched, especially if the limb is over-extended.

- The medial patellar ligament becomes too 'loose' and will catch on the end of the femur, locking the stifle and the hock (due to the reciprocal apparatus.)

- The hind limb is locked in an extension as the horse tries to pull the limb forward.

- He will be unable to flex the limb.

- The horse may stumble or be reluctant to work off of the hind end.

- A condition affecting the stratum medium in which the hoof becomes hollow.

- There may or may not be external signs.

- The separated portion hoof wall will need to be resected. - - All damaged tissue must be removed.

- Reconstruct the cleaned and debrided foot with synthetic products.

- A bar shoe must be used.

What is a windpuff?

What do windpuffs indicate?

- Small swellings around the fetlocks due to leaking synovial fluid.

- Windpuffs are indicative of stress to the joint.

- Cervical stentotic myelopathy (CSM) - a neuroligical disease.

- A lack of coordination marked by a wobbling gait as if the horse was 'drunk.'

- Stumbling under saddle

- Excessive toe wear on the front feet.

- Overreaching

- Enzymes that dissolve the bond between the PEL and SEL to allow for normal hoof growth. When MMP's malfunction and are unchecked, the basal cells can detach from the basement membrane, allowing founder to occur.