Developmental Orthopedic Disease in Foals

For any horse owner the birth of a foal is always an eagerly awaited event That baby the product of the carefully planned mating of two superior parents can elicit a range of emotions for the owner including excitement and awe but often anxiety and worry as well One of the concerns the owner of a newborn foal may have involves the risk of the foal developing developmental orthopedic disease DOD which is a name applied to a group of conditions that can affect the growing foal including physitis acquired angular limb deformities flexural deformities cervical vertebral malformations acquired vertebral deformities and finally osteochondrosis OC 

DOD conditions are caused by a disruption of skeletal development and maturation in the young horse Skeletal development in horses occurs when the protein matrix cartilage at the growth plates in the bones of the juvenile skeleton is mineralized by specialized cells called chondrocytes Cartilage is ossified or mineralized into bone at these sites by a process called endochondral ossification Anything that disrupts this process will cause weak or structurally compromised bone such as bone lesions that can result in chips or fragments breaking loose Bone lesions are of particular concern at the joints or junction of bone surfaces and can result in osteochondritis dissecans OCD The diagnosis of OCD or any one of the abovenoted conditions in a young horse can be a lifechanging development depending on what age it is discovered and if and when remedial action is taken 
DOD usually develops in the growing foal during the first 24 months of life and the period of time around weaning is when the owner needs to be especially vigilant In some cases the developmental issues are initiated in utero and research shows that the nutritional regime of the pregnant mare can have a bearing on the ability of her foal to grow healthy bone The key factors thought to be involved in the development of DOD in the growing horse are rapid growth diet biomechanical stress and hormonal influences Genetics also are suspected of having a significant role in the deve
Bone Growth and Osteochondrosis
Oseochondrosis OC is the subject of a great deal of ongoing research about why the process of mineralizing cartilage to healthy bone in the growing foal might be interrupted As mentioned earlier genetics may be significant and potential sites within the genome of horses have been identified as relevant Other research suggests