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Relationship between Third Metacarpal length and lower forelimb unsoundness in National Hunt racehorses

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 November 2017

T C Whitaker ,
S Norman  and
C Collins
T C Whitaker*
Affiliation:
Writtle College, Chelmsford, United Kingdom
C Collins
Affiliation:
Writtle College, Chelmsford, United Kingdom
*
Email: Tim.Whitaker@writtle.ac.uk
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Extract

Unsoundness amongst racehorses has considerable financial and welfare implications; Sasstamoinen and Barrey (2002) state the value of an athletic horse is largely determined by its ability to exercise and the health of its limbs. The forelimb of the horse is more likely to be predisposed to injury as a consequence of it supporting more than 65% of the horse’s bodyweight (Hodgson and Rose, 1994). Unsoundness associated to the third metacarpal (MC3) and associated soft tissues has been documented within the equine (Walter and Davies, 2001). Davies (2001) established that MC3 size and shape were significantly related to strain loadings within the equine forelimb. He concluded that unsoundness may be closely related to bone size and shape. Speirs (1994) states that the ability of bone to resist imposed loads is related to many factors – including bone geometry. Additional work (Davis, 2001) has concluded that bone strength and stiffness depend on the physical properties of the bone, overall anatomical shape as well as loading effects. This study aimed to investigate whether there is any link between MC3 length and recorded lower forelimb unsoundness in National Hunt racehorses.

Type
Poster presentations
Information
Proceedings of the British Society of Animal Science , Volume 2006 , March 2006 , pp. 146
Copyright
Copyright © 2016 The American Society of International Law

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References

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