and includes over 9,000 comments) we are to understand that 64.3 % of the individuals researched had some alignment defect that could be resolved in order to control their evolution and achieve an improvement or avoid it getting worse, regardless of the age at which they were researched. 62.7 % of the total alignment defects under study occur between the moment of birth and one month old, and 83.1 % before they are 3 months old. This gives us an idea of the importance of controlling their growth during the first weeks after a foal is born and also reflects the small amount of defects observed after they are 3 months old if control and follow-up is conducted taking into account certain guidelines that are the secret to success:
1) Early and Timely Diagnosis. 2) The Right Time for treating each defect. 3) Choice of adequate treatment considering degree of defect and age. 4) Follow-up on effect of treatment applied so as to make adjustments if necessary. that in which a knee is deviated inward and a fetlock joint outward( Figure 7). Also backward curve with relaxation( Figure 8). Those known as windswept, in which one knee bends slightly outward and the other inward( Figure 9). And countless possible combinations( Figure 10).
Figure 10: Same foa front view and side-view: a) Corvo and relax legs. b) Right knee and rotated inward. Left knee out and estevado.
Figure 7:“ Z”
Figure 8: Backguard curve with relaxation
Figure 9: Wind Swept
Lastly, the combination of alignment defects needs to be mentioned. Taking into account that it is not in itself a pathology, but a combination of those defects mentioned above, it is important that we refer to them because they occur fairly regularly. A very common combination that some call“ Z” is
The Cause of Deviations The causes of misalignments are multiple and many remain unknown. We hear many explanations, but to date very few are scientifically proven. We know that flexural defects originate mostly during gestation, but there is no certainty as to their cause. Angular and rotational deviations occur due to gestational causes, through hereditary predisposition of certain mares and stallions(“ this dam produces foals like that”) and through distortion in the forces that stimulate growth( as explained above). Deviations also occur when there is not sufficient bone maturity at birth; when there are fractures resulting from compression; conformation inherited from certain bones and distorted alignment in lines of bones. These factors appear mainly in knees and hocks. All these situations can be treated apart from growth control, although this continues to be an extremely important factor to be considered, because a foal with an injury of this type necessarily means that by taking weight off
277