Retrospective analysis of lameness localisation in Western Performance Horses: A ten‐year review

SummaryBackgroundSimilar to other high‐level athletic disciplines, the western performance horse experiences a variety of orthopaedic conditions as a result of rigorous sport‐specific physical demands. While musculoskeletal injury rates have been quantified in other equine disciplines, these data are lacking for the western performance athlete.ObjectivesTo identify the most common anatomical regions of lameness in western performance horses being evaluated at the nation's largest sanctioned shows over a 10‐year study period.Study designRetrospective review of clinical records.MethodsRecords of diagnostic analgesia of western performance horses competing at nationally sanctioned shows were retrospectively reviewed over a 10‐year period to identify affected limb(s) and lameness localisation patterns.ResultsA total of 2267 lameness examinations on 2512 horses were included. The average lameness grade was 2.21/5 with 1504/2267 (56%) cases being primarily forelimb in origin while 1173/2267 (44%) were hindlimb related. Forelimb lameness localised to the distal limb in 40% of cases. The proximal metatarsus/distal tarsus was an identified source of lameness in 16% of cases, followed by the stifle in 9% of cases. All‐around western performance horses most commonly presented with a single hindlimb lameness (315/1188, 26.5%) in contrast to reining horses that presented with a single forelimb lameness (135/616, 22%).DiscussionDetermining the source of lameness through diagnostic analgesia remains challenging, but the continued assessment of response to diagnostic analgesia may help characterise discipline‐specific injuries in western performance horses.Main limitationsRetrospective review of subjective responses to diagnostic analgesia.ConclusionsThe distal forelimb and distal tarsus/proximal metatarsus were the two most common anatomical regions of lameness based on response to diagnostic analgesia.