Quantitative and qualitative aspects of standing-up behavior and the prevalence of osteochondrosis in Warmblood foals on different farms: could there be a link?

BMC Veterinary Research

Research Article

E. M. van Grevenhof¹  A. J. M. van den Belt²  A. R. D. Gezelle Meerburg³  M. C. van Dierendonck⁴  W. Back⁵  B. van Schaik⁶  P. Meeus⁷ 

[1] Animal Breeding and Genomics Centre, Wageningen UR Livestock Research, Wageningen, The Netherlands;Department of Companion Animal Sciences, Division of Diagnostic Imaging, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands;Department of Equine Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands;Department of Equine Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands;Behavioral Biology Group, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands;Department of Surgery and Anaesthesiology of Domestic Animals, Ghent University, Merelbeke, Belgium;Department of Equine Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands;Department of Surgery and Anaesthesiology of Domestic Animals, Ghent University, Merelbeke, Belgium;GD-Animal Health Service, Deventer, The Netherlands;Ridderkerk Equine Clinic, Ridderkerk, The Netherlands;

关键词: Joint level;    Osteochondrosis;    Sliding;    Standing-up behavior;    Warmblood foals;    Horses;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12917-017-1241-y

 received in 2016-06-30, accepted in 2017-10-30,  发布年份 2017

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundOsteochondrosis (OC) is a common, clinically important joint disorder in which endochondral ossification is focally disturbed. Reduced blood supply to growing cartilage is considered an important cause of the condition, which has both genetic and environmental origins. Housing conditions can influence cartilage injury through peak-pressure changes during limb sliding. Additionally, circulatory perturbation can cause the avascular necrosis of cartilage. In this study, we evaluated the type and frequency of limb sliding during standing up and the occurrence of OC in foals aged up to 12 months on different farms.MethodsStanding-up behavior was observed in 50 weaned, group-housed, Dutch Warmblood foals aged 6–9 months at five farms using black-and-white surveillance cameras, and their standing-up behavior was scored using a predetermined ethogram. OC was scored using a categorical scale between 6 and 12 months of age in 50 foals in the weanling period, and in 48 from the weanling to yearling periods because two foals died in this time.ResultsAt both 6 and 12 months of age, the total prevalence of OC differed between the farms: the lowest prevalence was observed on a farm with no sliding, and the highest prevalence was evident on a farm with a higher sliding frequency. The mean ratio of sliding versus normal standing-up behavior was 29% (range: 0–50%); i.e., foals experienced limb sliding during around 29% of standing-up maneuvres. The frequency of sliding instead of normal standing-up behavior differed significantly between the farms (range: 0–50%; P < 0.05), but significantly decreased when foals could better prepare themselves to stand, e.g., when there was an obvious provocation such as the announced approach of another foal (P < 0.05).ConclusionsSmall but significant differences exist between farms in the sliding frequency and total OC incidence in Warmblood foals, but whether environmental factors are causally related to these differences requires further elucidation.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s). 2017