Summary
A group of eight horses was used to study the effects of synovectomy of one antebrachiocarpal
joint on stride kinematics of the trot. Two months after the operation, four of the
horses started a progressive exercise program lasting two months. A standardised lameness
evaluation and videographic gait analysis were performed on three occasions: two days
before the operation, two days after the operation and four months after the operation
when the exercise programme had been completed. There were no significant differences
in clinical lameness score, amplitude of poll motion, maximal metacarpophalangeal
angle, maximal carpal angle, or minimal carpal angle between the synovectomized limb
and the unoperated limb on any of the three evaluation days. It is concluded that
carpal synovectomy did not cause lameness in the immediate post-operative period,
and that strenuous exercise can safely be commenced after a two month recovery period,
unless underlying cartilaginous lesions dictate otherwise.
Gait analysis was performed qualitatively using a standard clinical examination and
quantitatively using videographic analysis to measure kinematic variables that have
previously been associated with lameness. Following synovectomy of one antebrachiocarpal
joint no signs of lameness were observed on clinical examination and there were no
asymmetrics in the kinematic variables. A strenuous exercise program, which commenced
2 months after surgery and lasted for 2 months, was completed without the development
of clinical or video-graphic signs of lameness.
Keywords
Lameness - videography - gait analysis
