Zaide (NZ) for Roll the Dice Syndicate

Date of Report: 4/2/20 Date of Examination: 3/1/20 Horse’s Name: Zaide Nearside Brand: R inside C Offside Brand: 3 over 4

Zaide a 5 year old mare trained by Mr Josh Juluis was presented to the Bendigo Equine Hospital on the 3/1/20 with a swelling over the palmar aspect of her left-fore leg. The swelling was noted after hard work and she had never been lame as a result of it.

An ultrasound scan of the distal limb showed a significant core-lesion in the superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT) extending from the most proximal point until the second most distal region. Core lesions are caused by over-extension (or strain) of the tendon during peak exercise. Below are the images taken, progressing from most proximally to distally:

The cross-sectional area of the SDFT is used routinely to assess for tendinitis. If we take the cross-sectional areas of the lesion and that of the normal tendon, we can see that 29% of the cross-sectional area over the whole 7 sections is occupied by the core lesion. Lesions which are greater than 25% are considered to have a severe prognosis. Going forward, our options are: • Retire the mare due to the severely negative prognosis. • Attempt intralesional injection of PRP or Stem Cells to maximise the our chances of

normal tendon healing. • Re-scan the tendon after every 6-8 weeks worth of rest to assess the quality of healing.

Please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions you may have,

Yours

Jonathan Olijnyk BVM&S