Page 14 - December 2008 The Game
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14 The Game, December 2008
Canada’s Thoroughbred Racing Newspaper
Our thoughts turn
gratefully to those who have made our success possible. It is in this spirit we say.... Thank You and best wishes for the holidays and a
Happy New Year
Tyler Pizarro & Kerri Beauclaire
Happy Holidays
Drug Therapy for Deteriorating Bones
Navicular disease isn’t always about the navicular bone. The increasingly common use of magnetic resonance imagine (MRI) to reveal goings-on in the dark and mysterious interior of the hoof, has revealed that the lameness which used to be blamed on the deterioration of the tiny, but pivotal, navicular bone, is often the result of soft tissue damage to the surrounding bursae or the tendons and ligaments attaching to that little bone. As such, navicular – now more correctly described by the catch-all, “caudal heel pain” – is proving more treatable than ever before, with many horses returning to full function once they’ve been correctly diagnosed and treated.
resorption and remodeling, resulting in an increase in bone density without impairing the bone’s capacity to adapt to mechanical loads.
A French study in 2003 looked at the effects of Tildren on 73 horses with either chronic or recent-onset navicular disease, complete with bone lesions. After initial lameness exams and radiographs, the horses were divided into three groups. One received daily intravenous Tildren injections for
 ve days, a second group was given the injections for 10 days, and the remaining horses served as the control, receiving a placebo.
During the study, the horses were exercised regularly. At the conclusion of the treatment period, the horses were radiographed again, and given
a second lameness exam. Follow-up exams were repeated one month, two months, and six months later.
The horses who were treated with Tildren for 10 days showed signi cant improvements in soundness, and typically returned to their normal work routines in two to six months. The horses on the  ve-day regime didn’t improve signi cantly.
Continued Page 16 - See BONES
Still, in some cases of caudal heel pain, the navicular bone does suffer signi cant deterioration (causing the “lolliop” lesions familiar to many of us on radiographs) – and a drug borrowed from human medicine may  nally be able to do something about that.
The drug is called tiludronate – brand name Tildren. It was initially developed to treat Paget’s Disease, a human disorder characterized
by irregularly formed and fragile bone tissue. Tildren inhibits bone
Equine Health
By Karen Briggs
Dave Landry Photo
May all these be yours at Christmas
Thank You to our owners & staff for our successes this season.
Michael & Josie De Paulo
Love Peace Happiness
The Game December 2008.indd
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