Clinical Manifestations of Horses with Shoulder Problems

The diagnosis of proximal limb lameness is sometimes time consuming and difficult even with the use of diagnostic analgesic techniques and advanced imaging modalities^1-3. The purpose of this paper is to show the variety of clinical manifestations induced by different conditions of the shoulder joint and bicipital apparatus. At physical examination many shoulder conditions induce muscle atrophy. Enlargement of the point of the shoulder is seen in horse having a  bicipital bursitis or a fracture of the tuberculum supraglenoidalis (Fig. 1); at the opposite this area looks sharp and often displaced laterally (varus of the shoulder joint) in horses with dysplasia of the sulcus intertubercularis and medial luxation of the proximal tendon of the biceps brachii (Fig. 1)^4,5.