UC Davis study of bone abnormalities that precede proximal sesamoid bone fractures

[Where_sMyWhite]

Some good findings I believe to help both racing in general and California in particular.

https://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/242574/uc-davis-study-links-bone-loss-to-sesamoid-fractures

[skydy]

Thanks @Where’sMyWhite. Very interesting article.

[Laurierace]

That’s super interesting as most bone gets stronger via concussion/repetitive loading. I am very interested to hear if they figure out why that happens to the sesamoids and not other bones and how to detect it before it becomes catastrophic or prevent it. Thanks for sharing.

[Where_sMyWhite]

I was happy to see that research was being done to try to understand why the sesamoids do fracture.

I’d like to see the study expanded (wonder if Grayson would support the effort?) to include TB and QH in other states to see if the problem is isolated to CA or occurs in all racehorses.

[Ghazzu]

@Laurierace

That’s super interesting as most bone gets stronger via concussion/repetitive loading. I am very interested to hear if they figure out why that happens to the sesamoids and not other bones and how to detect it before it becomes catastrophic or prevent it. Thanks for sharing.

My guess would be that sesamoids aren’t the sort of classic weight-bearing bones. They’re essentially pulleys, so the stresses are a bit different.