Gait, Balance and Osteochondrosis in Foals

Gait, balance and osteochondrosis in foals

Introduction
Shortly after birth, foals face an enormous challenge, as they must stand and walk within an hour. Imbalance and overloading could contribute to the development of osteochondrosis (OC), or the other way around. We therefore quantitatively studied gait and balance in growing foals, in relation to their OC(D) scores at 4-6 weeks and 6 months of age. Material and methods Eleven Dutch warmblood foals, all bred for show jumping and born and housed at the same stud farm, participated in this study. Pressure plate measurements were taken at 0.5, 1, (only walk) 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 16, 20 and 24 weeks of age (walk and trot), using a two meter pressure plate system to determine peak vertical force (PVF), load rate (LR), vertical impulse (VI) and peak vertical pressure (PVP). Symmetries were calculated to quantify balance. Radiographs of stifles and hocks were taken at 4-6 weeks and > 6 months to check for OC(D). A linear mixed model is used to determine the relationship between gait, balance and prevalence of OC(D). […]