Association between navicular bone fragmentation and shape in Belgian Warmblood horses.
Authors: Claerhoudt, Pille, Vanderperren, Hauspie, Duchateau, Van der Vekens, Saunders
Journal: Veterinary and comparative orthopaedics and traumatology : V.C.O.T
Summary
# Editorial Summary: Navicular Fragmentation and Bone Shape in Warmblood Horses Researchers analysed radiographs from 650 navicular bones in 325 young Belgian Warmblood stallions to determine whether the shape of the proximal articular surface correlated with fragmentation at the distal border, a common radiological finding associated with navicular disease. Navicular bones were classified into four categories based on their proximal border morphology—straight, convex, undulating, or concave—and assessed for the presence of distal border fragments. Distal fragmentation occurred in only 8.8% overall, but distribution was markedly uneven: concave-shaped bones showed fragmentation in 22% of cases, undulating shapes in 13%, whilst straight and convex morphologies remained below 7%. The authors propose that these fragments may reflect stress-related damage resulting from abnormal loading patterns, with bone shape directly influencing the distribution of biomechanical forces across the navicular region. For practitioners, this suggests that radiological assessment of navicular morphology could help identify higher-risk individuals, though longitudinal data linking shape variants to clinical lameness would strengthen the clinical utility of this classification approach.
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Practical Takeaways
- •Radiographic evaluation of navicular bone shape may help identify horses at higher risk for distal border fragmentation and potential navicular disease
- •Warmbloods with concave or undulating proximal articular borders warrant closer monitoring and may benefit from preventive hoof care and load management strategies
- •The shape-dependent biomechanical loading pattern suggests that farriery interventions aimed at optimizing weight distribution may be particularly important for horses with unfavorable navicular bone morphology
Key Findings
- •Distal border fragments were present in 57 of 650 navicular bones (8.8%) in Belgian Warmblood breeding stallions
- •Concave proximal articular border shape showed highest fragment prevalence at 22% (9/41), compared to 6-7% in straight and convex shapes
- •Undulating proximal articular border shape had 13% fragment prevalence (19/147), intermediate between concave and straight/convex
- •Fragment presence was associated with proximal border shape but not with other radiological findings examined