Navicular-Bone Partition Might Be A Genetic Disorder

Researchers from Utrecht University in the Netherlands and the University of Ghent in Belgium studied why partition — when the navicular bone splits — occurs.

Led by International Equine Veterinarian Hall Of Fame member Willem Back of Utrecht University, the team examined three cases of navicular-bone partition. Two of the three horses were euthanized because of the extent of the lamenesses, enabling further investigation. Chronic degenerative changes of the navicular bone were found in one horse. In the other, indentations were found in two non-affected limbs at locations similar to where partition had occurred in the affected bone. The researchers hypothesize that it’s a result of a genetic disorder.

Oral Prednisolone Does Not Increase Acute Laminitis

In a retrospective case-control study published in Equine Veterinary Journal, researchers from the United Kingdom determined that administration of oral prednisolone did not increase the risk of laminitis.

“Of the 416 horses treated with prednisolone, 16 (3.8%) were diagnosed with laminitis subsequent to the initiation of prednisolone treatment with an overall incidence of 2.60 cases per 100 horse-years at risk,” the researchers wrote. “A total of 46 (5.7%), of the 814 time-matched control horses were diagnosed with laminitis during the study period with an overall incidence of 3.46 cases per 100 horse-years at risk.”

Is It Time To Think About Laminitis Another Way?

An observational case-control study of only acute or incident cases of laminitis confirms that overweight horses are at risk for developing the painful and…