Case 3  2/27/01

Hypothesis 1:  Trauma

The foal is only 2 weeks old and will be spending a considerable amount of time laying 
on the ground and sleeping.  If the foal and mare are housed together in a small stall, the 
mare may have inadvertently stepped on the foal, causing the injury and resulting 
lameness.  Since there are other horses at this farm, the mare could have been spooked by 
another horse or another horse or foal may have caused the injury.

Bone:
The injury to the foal may be a fracture of the fetlock.  There was no crepitance noted on 
the initial exam, but fracture can only be ruled out by radiograph.

Soft Tissue:
The foal may have sustained damage to the tendons or ligaments of the fetlock.  The 
preferred method to evaluate soft tissue injury is by diagnostic ultrastenography.  
Deviations from normal echogenicity may indicate torn or separated fibers accompanied 
by edematous and/or hemorrhagic fluid.  Pitting edema was noted on the initial exam.  
Analysis of the edematous material may provide some information on the source of the 
problem.