Clinical and radiological evaluation of bucked shin cases in race horses

Bucked shin is a common condition that primarily affects young racing and fast-walking horses and causes exercise intolerance. It is usually characterized by pain and swelling in the dorsomedial surface of metacarpal III. This study contributes to the practice of horse medicine by evaluating the cases of bucked shin encountered during a racing season. The study material consisted of thoroughbred Arabian and English racehorses (n=19) aged 2-4 years old brought to the Diyarbakır Hippodrome Directorate Horse Hospital with complaints of stumbling, swelling on the dorsal and dorsomedial surface of the metacarpus, sensitivity, frequent foot changes during training, and training intolerance during a racing season. Based on the clinical and radiological examinations of the horses included in the study, local periostitis and osteolysis were determined in 7 cases, stress fracture in 2 case, exostosis in 7 cases, and thickening of the bone cortex in 6 cases. It was learned from the horse owner that 2 4-year-old horses evaluated within the scope of the study had been treated before, but had relapsed. Relapse occurred in 1 case treated within the scope of the study. In one case, an open metacarpus fracture occurred during a race after being diagnosed with bucked shin. As a result, bucked shin cases can be frequently encountered in young and under-trained horses and this situation should be taken seriously. Since ignoring the stress and lesions in the metacarpal III bone can cause fractures and major disasters, it can be said that this situation can be prevented by exercising the horse in controlled and suitable conditions during the foaling period.