Gary Falter, project manager for OwnerView, moderated the panel with guest Dr. Ali Broyles, a surgeon at Rood & Riddle. Dr. Broyles received her bachelor’s degree from Middle Tennessee State University and her DVM from Texas A&M University in 2010.
Tuesday’s Thoroughbred Owner Conference panel replay is available on the OwnerView webinar library.
The first question was about how quickly after foaling a veterinarian or farm manager can assess the conformation of a foal. Dr. Broyles stated that in the neonatal stage of life, that is, the first few weeks after foaling, they look for flexion deformities in the pasterns because many of these problems need to be addressed early.
“So those who are very contracted and maybe walking on their toes or having difficulty standing on their own, those are the ones that need to be addressed very quickly with bandages or splints or oxytetracycline,” Boyles said. “For those who are more lax, depending on the severity, you can limit their movement, but they usually improve by doing nothing; just letting the foals get stronger.”
When asked what veterinarians look for as the foal leaves the neonatal stage, Broyles said, “That’s when you start looking more at the fetlock. Is the fetlock turning inward or outward? And then also at the carpal or the knee. Are they kneeling or do they have bowed legs? For the fetlock, we can do some things to correct them: surgical correction, but also conservative treatment, which means you can have your farrier trim one side of the hoof or add extensions to one side of the hoof. hoof to promote proper growth.”
The discussion focused on whether these corrections are cosmetic or actually contribute to the horse remaining healthy in the future.
“There was a study in the early 2000s that looked at conformational abnormalities and how they affected racing and how that affected injury risk, and they found a correlation. So displaced knees or carpal varus will put the horse at risk for problems or lameness in the fetlock region, in addition to the carpal region,” Broyles said. “As surgeons, we are much more critical if the foal turns inward or has bent knees, which means we are going to encourage correction there because that deformity is going to predispose them to injury.”
Mare and foal at WinStar Farm
The panel also included a video of the procedure used to repair fetlock varus, specifically Broyles inserting transphyseal screws to correct the conformational abnormality, which Broyles walked the audience through.
The panel was sponsored by Rood & Riddle and Juddmonte Farm. A question-and-answer session was sponsored by West Point Thoroughbreds, and attendees could ask questions via a question-and-answer link.
The final virtual panel of the 2025 Thoroughbred Owner Conference, “Industry Efforts to Support Individuals in Need,” is scheduled for December 9 at 2:00 PM ET. The conference is organized by The Jockey Club and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association and presented by Bessemer Trust, Keeneland and Stoll Keenon Ogden.
There is no registration fee for the 2025 Virtual Conference Series, but registration is required. For more information about the owner conference series, including the schedule and registration page, visit ownview.com/event/conference or contact Gary Falter at (859) 224-2803 or gfalter@jockeyclub.com.
This press release has been edited for content and style by BloodHorse Staff.
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