A recent study has found that horses with cranial nuchal bursitis often improve with surgery. Horses that have this type of injury to their poll often stretch down and carry their head low; horses in the beginning stages of injury are often reluctant to flex at the poll and are resistant to go “on the bit,” reports EQUUS magazine.
Bursa are fluid-filled sacs found between bones and soft-tissue structures designed to decrease friction. The cranial nuchal bursa runs along the top of the horse's neck between the nuchal ligament and the atlas vertebra.
Dr. José M. García-López, with Tufts University, led a team of scientists who examined the records of 35 horses diagnosed with cranial nuchal bursitis at Rhinebeck Equine in New York and Utrecht University in the Netherlands. The horses were between 5 and 22 years old. The majority were English sport horses, specifically dressage horses. This supports the idea that postural demands may contribute to cranial nuchal bursitis development, García-López says.
For the study, 14 of the horses were treated with anti-inflammatories; the remainder had minimally invasive surgery to address the problem. The procedure allowed the surgeon to examine the inside of the bursa, then flush and remove debris and inflamed tissue.
The scientists found that 78.6 percent of the horses that had surgery returned to their previous level of work. Of the horses that received anti-inflammatories only, 66.7 percent returned to work, though some of the horses had to have the surgery later on to completely correct the issue. Of those, 25 percent were able to return to their previous performance level.
The horses that responded best to the anti-inflammatories had fluid buildup only – they didn't have debris or thickening of the lining of the bursa. Guided ultrasound or radiology can determine the extent of bursa damage.
Horses with inflammation only – no debris or thickening of the bursa lining – can be treated with a combination of steroids and polyglycan or hyaluronic acid. If there is debris present – or if the inflammation returns after the steroid combination, surgery should be performed as soon as possible.
Read more at EQUUS magazine.
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