Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Racing outcomes for young Thoroughbreds with knee osteochondrosis
By Sloan, Pearce B et al.·Published in Equine veterinary journal·2024·Department of Clinical Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
PetCaseFinder translated the abstract of this peer-reviewed paper into plain English so pet owners can read it. We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above. How we work →
Original publication title: Racing performance of juvenile Thoroughbreds with femoropatellar osteochondrosis at auction: A retrospective case-control study.
- Species:
- horse
Plain-English summary
A group of juvenile Thoroughbreds at auction were found to have a condition called femoropatellar osteochondrosis (OCD), which can affect their knee joint. This condition was seen in 429 horses, and those with OCD showed some small decreases in their racing performance compared to their siblings and other horses from the same sale. Specifically, the horses with OCD had fewer total starts and placings in races. While the findings suggest that OCD can impact racing outcomes, the exact relationship between the severity of the condition and performance remains unclear.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Osteochondrosis dissecans (OCD) is common in the femoropatellar joint in Thoroughbred yearlings for sale at auction and there is no consensus on the effect on racing outcomes. OBJECTIVES: Describe femoropatellar OCD in juvenile Thoroughbreds and compare the racing performance of affected Thoroughbred horses to siblings and unaffected horses from the same sale. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective case-control study of juvenile horses born 2010-2016. METHODS: Radiographic reports from 27 Thoroughbred auctions of weanling (5-11 months of age) and yearling (12-22 months of age) horses were reviewed to identify femoropatellar OCD. Age and sex of cases and controls were obtained from the sales catalogue. Racing performance was obtained from an online database. Correlation between lesion characteristics and racing performance were assessed using Pearson and Spearman correlations for continuous and ordinal/categorical variables respectively. Racing performance was compared between cases and sibling controls and age- and sex-matched sale number controls from the same sale with Poisson distribution and log link. Significance level of alpha = 0.05 was used. RESULTS: Femoropatellar OCD was identified in 429 horses with North American race records. OCD was present on 519 lateral trochlear ridges and 54 medial trochlear ridges. There were more males in the case group (70%) than in the sibling control group (47%). Case racing performance was compared to 1042 sibling and 757 hip controls. There were significant but small decreases in racing metrics of cases and increases in males for years raced, total starts, starts for 2-5 years of age, total placings, and placings at 2-4 years of age. Analysis of specific lesion metrics revealed weak correlations for performance outcomes (positive and negative) resulting in an inability to draw firm conclusions. MAIN LIMITATIONS: Retrospective study where case management was unknown. CONCLUSIONS: Femoropatellar OCD in juvenile Thoroughbreds for sale at auction decreases some racing outcomes.
Find similar cases for your pet
PetCaseFinder finds other peer-reviewed reports of pets with the same symptoms, plus a plain-English summary of what was tried across them.
Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37191294/