Orthopedics

Radiographic Abnormalities Not Linked to Poor Performance in Jumping Horses

By Michael DePeau-Wilson

Mild radiographic abnormalities of the thoracolumbar spine did not appear to negatively affect the performance capabilities of Warmblood jumping horses, according to findings published in the Journal of Equine Veterinary Science.

In an observational study of 100 competition-level horses, the presence of radiographic abnormalities did not correlate significantly with the horses’ current level of competition, age or their number of years competing (P>0.05), the researchers reported.

“Mild radiographic abnormalities of the back in jumping horses are common and do not necessarily negatively affect performance,” said coauthor Sarah le Jeune, DVM, DACVS, DACVSMR, CVA, Cert vet Chiro, of the UC-Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, in an interview with Modern Equine Vet. Notably, the researchers found that every horse in the study showed some radiographic abnormalities.

“It was surprising to see that none of these horses had a completely normal back,” Dr. le Jeune said, adding that “back radiographs need to be interpreted with caution.”

Overall, the researchers noted that these findings are “vital for veterinarians when interpreting radiographs of spinous processes in clinical patients and on prepurchase examination.”

The Study
For this observational study, the researchers evaluated 100 Warmbloods, including 25 mares, 69 geldings and 6 stallions. The average age of the horses was 10.6 years.

Eligible horses competed in at least 10 classes of either show jumping or hunter competitions at the 2018 HITS Coachella Desert Circuit. The researchers noted that the competition jumping heights varied among the horses from 0.90 m to 1.60 m (median, 1.35 m).

For the study, 4 observers analyzed and graded 1,770 interspinous spaces for the presence of narrowed interspinous space, sclerosis, lucency and enthesopathy. Using the Intraclass Correlation Coefficient to assess reliability, the authors noted the observers had good consistency in their collective assessment of interspinous space, sclerosis and lucency, but poor agreement in their assessment of enthesopathy.

Overall, 64 horses had narrowed interspinous spaces (median, 4 narrowed interspinous spaces [range 0-11]), 47 had sclerosis (median, 1 sclerotic spinous process [range 0-9]), 10 had lucencies, and 88 had enthesopathy. Narrowed interspinous processes and sclerosis were mostly observed between T15 and L1, while enthesopathy was typically found at the withers (T8-T13).

While every horse showed some abnormalities, the researchers noted that the total radiographic score of the study population ranged from 0.01 to 0.64 (median, 0.15), which suggested the overall severity of radiographic signs was mild.

While the researchers found no significant correlation between individual radiographic findings and the current level of performance, they did show some positive correlations between abnormalities and performance, as indicated by Pearson correlation coefficient estimates.

For example, highest career level was positively correlated with narrowed interspinous spaces (r=.21; P=0.037) and sclerosis (r=.21; P=0.034). Overall radiographic score also was correlated positively with current performance level (r=.20; P=0.047) and highest career level (r=.24; P=0.016).

The study had some key limitations. The researchers noted that the clinical examinations performed on the horses were cursory, which may have led to the missed detection of actual back pain in the study horses.

Since most Warmblood jumping horses undergo radiography during their prepurchase examinations, the researchers noted that horses with severe radiographic abnormalities likely fail those assessments. Those outcomes could explain the low prevalence of severe radiographic abnormalities in this population, so they recommended that similar studies be conducted with different demographics, such as discipline or geographic location, before drawing further conclusions.

“A thorough clinical examination is necessary to determine whether radiographic abnormalities of the back are clinically significant or not,” Dr. le Jeune said. MeV

For more information:
Kerbert MP, le Jeune SS, Philips KL, et al. Mild radiographic abnormalities of thoracolumbar spinous processes are not associated with decreased performance in 100 Warmblood jumping horses in active competition. J Equine Vet Sci. 2025;147:105366.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0737080625000243?via%3Dihub