Page 267 - Equine Clinical Medicine, Surgery and Reproduction, 2nd Edition

242 CHAPTER 1

VetBooks.ir 1.455 1.456

1.457

Fig. 1.455 Assessment of neck flexibility using food in
a normal horse. The horse is positioned against a fence
so that it cannot move its body away. The forelimbs are
both fully load bearing and the horse has flexed the neck
laterally, maintaining the head more or less vertical.
Fig. 1.456 Assessment of neck flexibility using
food in a 10-year-old Warmblood showjumper with
advanced osteoarthritis of the caudal cervical articular
process joints and marked neck stiffness, which
compromised performance. The horse could not flex
its neck any further and rotated its head sideways.
Note that the horse has also positioned the right
forelimb in front of the left forelimb and is partially
flexing the carpus and distal limb joints.
Fig. 1.457 Turning in small circles, this horse is
holding its neck very stiffly.

Differential diagnosis Diagnosis
A variety of other neck lesions such as discospondylitis, Many normal mature horses have some degree of
a fracture, neoplasia, bone necrosis and osteomyeli- enlargement and modelling of the caudal cervical
tis may cause similar clinical signs but are much less articular process joints, which is often biaxial. The
common. Neck stiffness when ridden may be second- greater the degree of modelling and enlargement the
ary to forelimb or hindlimb lameness. Resolution of more likely it is that there may be associated clinical
lameness by diagnostic analgesia resolves these sec- signs. Acquisition of both laterolateral radiographic
ondary signs. Oral pain may create neck stiffness. images and lateroventral/laterodorsal oblique images