Analysis of the prevalence of osteoarticular pathologies in horses based on the results of radiography

This article provides an overview of the literatureand recent scientific research on the spread of bone andjoint pathology among horses. Reasoned relevance andprospects of research on this issue.The article also presents the results of own research aimed at analyzing the distribution of bone andjoint diseases in horses on the territory of equestriansports clubs of Kharkiv region, Poltava region andKyiv region with the aim of finding out the frequencyof occurrence of this group of pathologies.To achievethe goal, radiography of 40 heads of horses aged 8-21years of riding breeds, which had signs of lamenessof the resisting limb, was carried out. Based on theresults of the research, differential diagnosis of boneand joint diseases was carried out. Differential diagnosis of arthrosis was presented taking into account thepathological process and its localization. According tothe obtained data, arthrosis accounted for 55% of thetotal number of studied animals, osteoporosis – 25%,periostitis – 7.5%, cystic formations and bone cracks –7.5%. Bone and joint pathology was not detected in theremaining 5%. Arthritic phenomena were localized inthe joints of the distal part of the limbs, namely: hoof,coronal, putative, carpal and hock. A case was registered when the degenerative process was concentratednot only in one joint, but also moved to the lower one.Among 55% of arthrosis, there were cases of osteoarthrosis, exfoliative osteochondritis, presence of ossification within the joint. The article also comparesown results with data obtained by foreign researchersregarding the distribution of bone and joint pathologiesin horses.In addition, the article substantiates the feasibilityof analyzing the spread of bone and joint diseases inhorses and demonstrates the effectiveness of X-ray diagnostics of these pathologies. Key words: arthrosis, periostitis, osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, osteoarthritis of the hock joint, osteochondritis dissecans, ossification.