Nineteen years of radiographic screening: Impact of sepsis and evolution of osteochondrosis dissecans prevalence in Walloon sport horses born between 2004 and 2022.
Authors: Van Cauter Raphaël, Caudron Isabelle, Lejeune Jean-Philippe, Rousset Alycia, Serteyn Didier
Journal: PloS one
Summary
# Editorial Summary: Two Decades of Osteochondrosis Dissecans Screening in Walloon Sport Horses Over 19 years, researchers radiographically screened 1,099 Walloon sport horses (born 2004–2022) using standardised diagnostic criteria to evaluate whether selective breeding programmes had reduced osteochondrosis dissecans (OCD) prevalence—a hereditary developmental orthopaedic disorder affecting performance—whilst also investigating environmental risk factors through owner questionnaires. Despite decades of stallion selection specifically targeting OCD reduction, the prevalence of radiographic lesions remained static throughout the study period, suggesting current breeding protocols lack sufficient stringency or specificity to drive meaningful population-level change. A striking finding emerged regarding sepsis exposure: foals with systemic infection during growth demonstrated dramatically elevated OCD susceptibility, with 67% of septic individuals developing lesions compared to 28% in controls (p<0.001), implicating concurrent infection as a potent non-hereditary aetiological factor. These results challenge the assumption that OCD in infected foals reflects pure genetic predisposition and suggest that selection programmes penalising affected individuals without accounting for sepsis exposure may inadvertently eliminate genetically sound stock, whilst simultaneously highlighting infection prevention and management during the critical growth phase as potentially modifiable intervention points for practitioners and breeders alike.
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Practical Takeaways
- •Sepsis in growing foals substantially increases osteochondrosis dissecans risk — focus on preventing neonatal and foal infections may be more impactful than genetic selection alone
- •Current breeding selection strategies in sport horses haven't reduced osteochondrosis dissecans over two decades, suggesting need for revised or more rigorous selection criteria or multimodal management approach
- •Don't automatically exclude young horses from breeding solely because they have both sepsis history and osteochondrosis dissecans; evaluate other breeding merit factors
Key Findings
- •No significant change in osteochondrosis dissecans prevalence over 19 years (2004-2022) despite selective breeding programmes in Walloon sport horses
- •Foals with sepsis during growth were highly predisposed to osteochondrosis dissecans (67% affected vs 28% in controls, p<0.001)
- •Current selection programmes appear insufficient to reduce osteochondrosis dissecans prevalence in this population
- •Sepsis history should not be used as automatic breeding exclusion criterion for horses with concurrent osteochondrosis dissecans