Osteochondrosis - An international problem for the horse industry

Osteochondrosis is one of the most important skeletal problems affecting young horses and is one of the conditions included in the syndrome of developmental orthopedic disease. It occurs worldwide in many different breeds and its incidence appears to be steadily increasing. The primary lesion of osteochondrosis is attributed to focal damage of endochondral ossification. When occurring in the articular/epiphyseal cartilage complex, there may be bone formation within the retained cartilage, resulting in ''bony fragments.'' These are often seen in the tarsocrural articulation on the cranial aspect of the tibia. Focal retention of necrotic cartilage into the subchondral bone may eventually lead to cleft formation resulting in osteochondrosis dissecans. Other lesions associated with osteochondrosis are subchondral cysts, fractures and osteoarthrosis. The definitive cause of osteochondrosis is unknown, but there is evidence that it is the response in growth cartilage to a number of different challenges. It appears to be multifactorial in origin, involving heredity, growth rate, body size, nutrition, mineral imbalance, endocrinological dysfunction and biomechanical trauma. Recent studies have shown cases of osteochondrosis to be preceded by radiographically detectable disturbances of endochondral ossification during the first three months of life. This early appearance of disturbed ossification necessitates further studies into the importance of nutrition/management of the pregnant and lactating mare. Whether these early disturbances will lead to fully developed osteochondrosis or if they will recede obviously depends on a number of factors such as nutrition and exercise. High energy diets have been shown in weaning foals to consistently produce lesions of osteochondrosis. If, however, foals fed a high energy diet are subjected to forced exercise, the incidence of osteochondrosis is reduced dramatically. The prevention of osteochondrosis must rate as a high priority for the horse industry, but to achieve this more data on the mechanisms of endochondral ossification and how this process is influenced by different intrinsic and environmental factors are required. Recent research into osteochondrosis has involved studies of chondrocyte metabolism in growth cartilage, the influence of growth factors, the extent of degradation of extracellular matrix and endochondral ossification.