Differentiation of Ataxic and Orthopedic Gait Abnormalities in the Horse

Differentiation of Ataxic and Orthopedic Gait Abnormalities in the Horse: Movement and, to some degree, posture at stance or even in recumbency depends on the functionality, interaction, and integration of the passive and active musculoskeletal structures, with pattern generation, motor innervation, and proprioception as the relevant neurologic aspects. Any abnormality within this arrangement will lead to a gait or movement deficit, and complex interactions can be present, such as the reduction of proprioceptive input due to damage of sensory nerves associated with orthopedic disease. A possible explanation for the slapping hoof placement in horses with laminitis, which was described to be similar to the gait of some “wobblers,” could therefore be the damage to the sensory nerve fibers associated with pedal bone displacement and laminar disruption. An additional complicating factor is the increased incidence of orthopedic trauma and/or disease in neurologically impaired horses, as they are more prone to falling, stumbling, slipping, etc, than neurologically intact horses. In such cases, a degree of orthopedic pain may accompany ataxia.