Radiological findings in the thoracic spine of the horse according to the german Radiographic Guidelines 2007 considering the clinical relevance

摘要

Both veterinary surgeons and horse owners are becoming increasingly concerned about the existence of actual or only inapparent back disorders in horses. Very often, tension in the back, caused by painful limb disorders, or by inaccurate riding influence, for example, are misdiagnosed as diseases of the back. On the other hand, horses with severe radiological findings in the spinous processes do not show any clinical abnormalities at all. The objective of this paper was to assess X-rays of the caudal thoracic and cranial lumbar spine (T10 - L1) in accordance with the German X-ray classification guidelines (Rantgenleitfaden, RoLf) 2007 and relate them to numerical values, clinical and species-specific considerations. For this purpose, X-rays were taken of the saddle position area (T10-L1) of 404 horses. Prior to this, a detailed clinical examination of the back of each animal was carried out. Similarly, the species-specific features (sex, race, type of use, equestrian problems, muscular development) and the numerical values (weight, height, age) were determined. We found evidence, that radiological findings on the spinous processes in the area of the saddle position can also occur in clinically healthy horses. Nevertheless, considerable changes, as classified in the X-ray classs III-IV according to the german X-ray classification guidelines 2007, occur distinctly more often in horses showing clinical and equestrian abnormalities. Type of use, anatomy, age, weight and height do have a distinct influence on the incidence of radiological findings on the spinous process.