SUCCESSFUL TREATMENT OF A HORSE WITH CHRONIC, SEVERE FLEXURAL DEFORMITY OF THE DISTAL INTERPHALANGEAL JOINT: A case report

Flexural deformities of the limbs of foals and young horses are relatively common entities presented to the equine practitioner. The more common areas of involvement include the distal interphalangeal, metacarpophalangeal, and(or) carpal joint areas. They may be classified as either congenital or acquired depending on the time of first appearance. Severity of deformity is graded as Type i if the cranial hoof wall does not pass the vertical, or Type II if it passes beyond the vertical, t The purpose of this ease presentation is to review initiating factors for acquired flexural deformity of the distal interphalangeal joint and the need to utilize professional capabilities of the veterinary surgeon and farrier. The etiology of acquired flexural deformity has been generally associated with nutritional imbalances occurring during the period of accelerated growth in the young horse (3 to 12 months of age). Excess energy and imbalance of rations are considered primary factors; 2,a accelerated compensatory growth rate following a change to a high nutritional plane has also been reported as a factor in this etiology. 4 Calcium and phosphorous availability and ratio appear to be important contributions to flexural abnormalities s and may have a significant relation to feed types, regional location and the effect of dietary protein on calcium hom~;ostasis, ms,6 It has also been reported as an hypothesis that rapid growth of long