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10 TheHorse.com THE HORSE April 2015 Researchers Compare Joint Injection Options A comparison of the corticosteroid triam- cinolone and a triamcinolone/hyaluronic acid (HA) combination for treating horses with osteoarthritis yielded ÒunexpectedÓ results, Dutch researchers said. Some veterinarians believe adding HA can minimize steroidsÕ potential negative effects and alleviate lameness more effectively than steroids alone, said Janny C. de Grauw, DVM, PhD, of Utrecht University. But despite the combinationÕs popularity, there is little data to support it. So, de Grauw evaluated it further. Eighty horses with clinical joint disease received either one 12-mg dose of triamcino- lone or one 12-mg dose of triamcinolone with 20 mg of HA. Three weeks later, 87.8% of the triamcinolone-treated cases and 64.1% of the combination cases were considered a suc- cess, showing more than two lameness gradesÕ improvement. But three months after injection, only half of the horses in each group had returned to their previous performance level. ÒThese results show that despite a high short-term success rate, which surprisingly was highest for triamcinolone alone, only approximately 50% of horses in both treat- ment groups were back in full work three months after treat- ment,Ó said de Grauw. Why adding the HA didnÕt benefit the cases remains unknown. The team said they did not address potential chondroprotective (cartilage-sparing) effects of the combination. Learn more at TheHorse. com/35386.—Stacey Oke, DVM, MSc SDF T Attachment Problems Studied If a horseÕs hock is swollen and heÕs hind-limb lame, practitioners should consider whether there could be an is- sue with the superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT, which runs along the back of the cannon) attachment to the hock, said Sue Dyson, MA, Vet MB, PhD, DEO, FRCVS, of the Animal Health Trust, in Newmarket, U.K. ÒThe SDFT has two broad ÔbandsÕ at the cap of the ten- don where it passes over the back of the tarsus, or hock,Ó she explained. ÒComplete tears of those bands can cause a sudden, severe lameness.Ó Dyson recently deter- mined that full-thickness, but incomplete, tears of the medial (inner) insertion of the SDFT on the calcaneus (a bone on the back of the hock) can also cause such lameness and swelling. Find more information at TheHorse.com/35378. —Stacey Oke, DVM, MSc "Horses seldom do something that doesn't have a purpose," said Katherine Houpt, VMD, PhD, Dipl. ACVB, professor emerita at Cornell University's College of Veterinary Medicine, in Ithaca, New York. "And that purpose isn't to be annoying!" Rather, that purpose might be to alleviate pain. Houpt and Christina But- ler, DVM, also of Cornell, observed in a recent study of 41 Standardbred trotters (ages 3-12) that the horses tended to paw more in the four hours after exercise than before they worked. Many of them also tried to stand with their back feet in the hole theyÕd created. "Getting the back legs in a lower position helps take weight off the front legs, which could be a sign of pain in those front legs, especially after a workout," Houpt said. During their study, 58% of the horses pawed at some point—and the paw- ing didn't appear related to food. Houpt said pawing at feeding time or while tied are learned behaviors that are rewarded (with feed or a bit of relief from movement restriction, for example). But other pawing in the stall is likely a learned repetitive behavior that might reflect an effort to ease pain in the limbs or abdomen . Interest- ingly, the researchers added, pawing occurred the least on Sunday afternoons, when the horses werenÕt exercised. "Pawing itself is not an orthopedic problem," Houpt said, and it doesnÕt appear to induce musculoskeletal issues, either. "So we don't need to seek to stop the pawing, necessarily. But pawing could be indicative of an orthopedic problem, so what we need to try to stop is whatever is causing that orthopedic problem." Though the study was conducted on Standardbred trotters, which have their own range of issues related to harness work, Houpt said saddle horses might also react similarly to orthopedic pain. Additionally, further research is needed to deter- mine how frequently horses stand in the holes they pawed for pain relief. —Christa Lesté-Lasserre, MA Study: Pawing Could be Indicative of Discomfort In the study pawing was more com- mon following exercise than before. DUSTY PERIN KEVIN THOMPSON/THE HORSE AMY KATHERINE DRAGOO I f your horse paws at the ground—and not because he hears the feed bucket rattling— it could be a sign of pain, researchers say. Inquiries to: 859/276-6726 E-Mail: News@TheHorse.com ERICA LARSON, News Editor @TH_EricaLarson NEWSFRONT