Diagnosis and Treatment of Flexural Deformities in Foals

Flexural deformities represent deviations in the sagittal plane. They are divided into contractural and hyperextension deformities either congenital or developmental in origin. Diagnosis is usually straightforward and should lead to immediate treatment to prevent secondary complications. Inherited factors such as rapid growth response to high energy nutrition play an important role in the development of the problems; balancing nutritional intake is the key in the prevention of flexural deformities. While congenital contractural deformities are usually managed either by medical means (oxytetracyline IV) or application of special shoes (toe extensions), digital hyperextension deformities are usually handled through swimming exercise or the application of heel extensions—surgical intervention is rarely indicated. Surgical intervention is in most cases the treatment of choice in developmental contractural deformities—desmotomy of the accessory ligament of the deep digital flexor tendon for deformities of the distal interphalangeal joint and desmotomy of the accessory ligament of the superficial digital flexor tendon.