Khan Raja Zabeeh Ullah, Rosanowski Sarah M, Parkes Rebecca Sarah Victoria
Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, Jockey Club College of Veterinary Medicine and Life Sciences, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong.
Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA.
Equine Vet J. 2023 May;55(3):435-445. doi: 10.1111/evj.13861. Epub 2022 Aug 9.
Hoof morphometry, conformation and shoeing practices have all been associated with lameness in horses. Hoof morphometry in working donkeys in Pakistan has not been objectively measured.
To quantitatively assess hoof morphology in donkeys, to identify factors underlying hoof morphology, and interrelationships between conformation, lameness, and shoeing status.
Cross-sectional study.
Donkeys were assessed in-harness using a modified five-point lameness scale by two veterinarians and digital photographs of front hooves taken alongside a grid. Factor analysis was used to examine the interrelationships among morphometric data. Associations between conformation, shoeing, age and lameness were assessed.
Sixty-one donkeys were examined; 28 were unshod. There were significant left-right hoof asymmetries between heel height (0.27, SD 0.92 cm; p = 0.02), toe-heel angle (2.97°, SD 8.85°; p = 0.03) and medio-lateral symmetry (0.5, SD 1.75 cm; p = 0.05). Ten percent of donkeys (n = 6) were sound and 64% donkeys (n = 39) were consistently lame. Conformational defects were seen in 41% (n = 25) of donkeys. Eleven factors were extracted, accounting for 83% of the variance encountered in the original variables. Shoeing, and asymmetry between or within feet were not associated with lameness in donkeys; older donkeys were more likely to be lame (p = 0.02).
As a convenience sample of draught donkeys, most of which were lame, the study may not reflect nonpathological hoof morphology in working donkeys. There are no validated objective lameness measures for donkeys and donkeys were in harness when assessed.
This study represents a snapshot of hoof morphology and lameness in a single population and under various limitations. Further work should use larger datasets and more homogenous samples to discriminate between 'normal' and 'abnormal' feet and how these might contribute to lameness. Factor analysis highlighted the clustering of hoof morphometric features in donkeys, suggesting the potential for targeted studies in the future.
蹄部形态测量、外形结构及蹄铁应用均与马匹跛行有关。巴基斯坦役用驴的蹄部形态测量尚未进行客观评估。
定量评估驴的蹄部形态，确定蹄部形态的潜在影响因素，以及外形结构、跛行和蹄铁应用状况之间的相互关系。
横断面研究。
由两名兽医使用改良的五点跛行量表对套着挽具的驴进行评估，并在网格旁拍摄前蹄的数码照片。采用因子分析来检验形态测量数据之间的相互关系。评估外形结构、蹄铁应用、年龄与跛行之间的关联。
检查了61头驴；其中28头未钉蹄铁。蹄跟高度（0.27，标准差0.92厘米；p = 0.02）、蹄尖-蹄跟角度（2.97°，标准差8.85°；p = 0.03）和内外侧对称性（0.5，标准差1.75厘米；p = 0.05）在左右蹄之间存在显著差异。10%的驴（n = 6）无跛行，64%的驴（n = 39）持续跛行。41%（n = 25）的驴存在外形结构缺陷。提取了11个因子，占原始变量中所遇方差的83%。蹄铁应用以及蹄间或蹄内的不对称与驴的跛行无关；年龄较大的驴更易跛行（p = 0.02）。
作为役用驴的便利样本，其中大多数存在跛行，该研究可能无法反映役用驴的非病理性蹄部形态。对于驴，尚无经过验证的客观跛行测量方法，且评估时驴处于挽具状态。
本研究呈现了单一群体在各种局限性下的蹄部形态和跛行情况。未来的进一步研究应使用更大的数据集和更同质的样本，以区分“正常”和 “异常” 蹄，并探究其与跛行的关系。因子分析突出了驴蹄形态测量特征的聚类，表明未来有针对性研究的潜力。
