Pressure distribution in the metacarpal joint during midstance gallop.

Abstract

The horse racing industry in New Zealand is a major part of the economy. The primary reason for the elimination of horses is lameness originating from the musculoskeletal system. In the race horses the primary injury is chondylar fracture associated with palmar osteochondral disease (POD). Hypothesis; When the load is ditributed equally on a surface, the pressure was the same on every location. Results; The highest pressure found inside the metacarpalphalangeal joint was when the joint angle was smallest.With an increasedload applied to the limbs, the pressure inside the MCP joint shifted more dorsally. The pressure lateral and medial of the sagittal ridge increased linieary with the load. In every testing the load was applied on the limbs in the same manner. Conclusion; Because the pressure builds op on certain points in the joint, just a small surface of the joint has too endure al the pressure in the galloping horse. Most of the lesions are seen on the dorsal side of the joint surface of the metacarpal bone and on both sides of the sagittal ridge, which complies with results of this research.

Discussion;