Our Practices

Arthrodesis – What Is It And When Can It Help?

Degenerative joint disease, or arthritis, is a common and debilitating condition in the horse which causes lameness and loss of performance.  Usually there is an underlying cause – such as a traumatic injury to the joint, but regardless of the cause once degeneration of the joint begins the progression and clinical signs are similar.

When dealing with joint injuries, the aim should always be to provide effective treatment before the joint begins to degenerate. However, this is not always possible, and in the minority of cases the joint becomes so severely affected with degenerative changes that lameness becomes debilitating, regardless of what treatments are administered to the joint.

In the scenario described above, arthrodesis – or ‘fusion’ – of the affected joint can be an effective means of providing pain relief. Depending on the joint involved, the horse may also be able to return to work after arthrodesis – but this is only the case with joints that normally have limited movement. Examples include the small joints in the hock, and the pastern (proximal interphalangeal) joint.

With the small joints in the hock, there is such limited movement that arthrodesis can be achieved by simply removing any remaining cartilage from the joint surfaces – performed by drilling across the affected joint. The body then forms bridges of bone across the joint at the drill tracts, fusing the joint. This takes time to occur, and typically horses will take 6 months or more to come sound after surgery.

With the pastern joint, although this is still considered a ‘low motion’ joint, there is substantially more movement than seen in the small hock joints. Because of this, simply removing the remaining cartilage does not enable fusion to occur. Instead, this needs to be combined with surgical placement of screws and plates to bridge and immobilise the joint. Once this has been performed, fusion will occur gradually over about 6 months after surgery.

The outcome following surgery can be good, with around three-quarters of horses being able to return to work. This varies a bit however, depending on which joint is involved and the severity of initial injury.

Our Practices

The Hospital

Services

Services

Orthopaedic Surgery

Orthopaedics is the largest surgical discipline at NEH and concerns principally joints and bones, with the most common procedures including arthroscopic surgery and fracture repair.

Internal Medicine

Conditions treated by our internal medicine team include diseases of the airways, heart, intestines, liver, kidneys and circulatory system.

Soft Tissue Surgery

The major disciplines in equine soft tissue surgery include abdominal (colic) surgery, airway, and urogenital surgery.

Colic

Colic is one of the most common surgical emergencies in the horse, and success revolves around a highly trained rapid response team.

Wind Surgery & Breathing Problems

Breathing problems are a surprisingly common cause of poor performance in the horse.

Diagnostic Imaging

Diagnostic imaging is a term used to describe methods which allow us to visualise structures and activities inside the body.

Lameness & Poor Performance

We understand the frustrations involved when a horse’s ability to perform at expected levels is impaired. Our experienced clinicians can systematically assess the potential causes and advise on treatment.

Rehabilitation

An athletic injury can result in a prolonged period out of training with consequential physical restrictions for the whole horse.

Dentistry

Equine dental disease manifests in numerous ways, from difficulty in eating and nasal discharge to more subtle bitting and performance-related issues.

Farriery

Consultant farrier Will O’Shaughnessy holds the Worshipful Company of Farriers (WCF) Diploma in Farriery

Our Practices

The Practice

Services

Services

Racehorses

Covering all aspects of racing work – we care for thoroughbreds in training in and around Newmarket from the day they enter pre-training to the day they leave the yard.

Breeding Services

Our team of stud vets provide comprehensive reproductive and stud medicine services for stud farms in Newmarket and further afield.

Sales

A team of experienced sales vets provide both vendor and purchaser services both privately and at all the major European Sales and many in the USA.

Sport & Leisure

Our Sport and Leisure vets provide a high quality and personalised service to the whole equine community from high end competition horses to your much-loved horses, ponies or donkeys.

Free Visit Rounds

Find out more about our free visit rounds.

Exports

Newmarket Equine Hospital has a dedicated shipping department which specialises in organising pre-export examinations and testing schedules to comply with the differing import requirements to enable horses to travel to countries all around the world.

Endurance

Our lead Endurance vet Tom is involved with the discipline at all levels.

Insurance & Expert Opinion

We have a number of vets who can offer expert opinions for insurance and legal cases.

Our Practices

Our Practices