OCD thread spin-off: An actual study on Developmental Orthopedic Disease

[CBoylen]

Am I demented, or do I recall reading in the COTH issue that awarded Rox Dene Show Hunter of the Year that she had OCD as a young horse? (Maybe Chandra B. will chime in?) It is known to resolve over time “in many cases,” and this would be a good example.

I can’t really comment on the accuracy of that story. When we purchased the horse as a coming four year old there were no vetting issues. Somewhere along the line we heard a story that she had “been injured” as a yearling and the vet told the owner to euthanize. Years later that story became that the “injury” was an OCD. No clue where the truth is. If there was one, yes, it must have resolved.
FWIW the horse was made of iron. Two 4’ divisions, 15-20 shows a year,… no joint maintenance. Never seen one that sound before or since.

[Indy-lou]

[QUOTE=Absolut Equestrian;5223815]
I try and avoid these threads, because they mostly just make me want to pull my hair out. I’m not a breeder, nor do I breed. However, I am a scientist that studies articular cartilage. My master’s thesis actually looked at the influence of dietary energy source on cartilage development. So I guess you could say that I do have some sort of stake in this battle.

Okay, first some clarification of what is the correct terminology:

OC= Osteochondrosis, abnormal biology of the articular cartilage and underlying bone (lesion).

OCD = Osteochondrosis Dissecans, which occurs when a piece of cartilage and/or bone actually detaches from the joint surface (fragment).

That’s just about irrelevant, as even if they had lesions as young horses they are not likely to show up in radiographs of an adult horse. Most of the top equine orthopedic surgeons don’t like to operate on lesions in very young horses, as many lesions will resolve themselves with time. They do not fully “heal,” but instead repair with a hyaline-like scar tissue that isn’t always visible on radiographs.

Here’s a summary of the current research, in a nutshell.
Is there a genetic component? YES
Are there management components? YES
Do we know exactly what they are and how they affect articular cartilage biology? NO

Bottom line, OC is a multifactorial disease. This is well known, and even scares some researchers away… the data we do have makes it seem extremely unlikely that there is a single clear cause.

Yes, environment and management are known to play roles in the development of OC. However, there are also (likely several) underlying genes that are either present or absent. If those genes are absent, it’s a lot less likely that the environment can influence them and influence their role in cartilage development.[/QUOTE]
I can relate to the wanting to pull my own hair out for lack of folks reading all of the contributions in a thread before posting. Thank you for your post. I have tried to say in the other recent thread that it is foolish to ignore any genetic influence, all the while agreeing that the issue is multifactorial. Some folks want to set up tents in one camp or another because human nature tends to desire a clear yes or no answer for the most part. Anxiety is reduced for when issues are black or white. Sadly, we still don’t have black/white answers for those who are most anxious.

[M_O_Connor]

Thank you Chandra…I have always wondered about that; I was going for my judge’s licence when Rox Dene was showing in those two divisions at once, and loved watching her whenever she came into the ring. She sure did look sound, didn’t she, week, after week, after week. And that was BEFORE every show had “good” footing, it should be noted.

And thanks AE for that clarification–those of us geeks who AREN’T scientists can be lazy about reading those terms thoroughly, and defining them completely.