Phannithi Thawijit, Laikul Aree, Pathomsakulwong Watcharapol, Rungsri Porrakote, Apichaimongkonkun Tawanhathai, Watchrarat Krisana, Cherdchutham Worakij
Veterinary Clinical Studies Program, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kasetsart University, Kamphaeng Saen, Nakorn Pathom 73140, Thailand.
Department of Large Animal and Wildlife Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kasetsart University, Kamphaeng Saen, Nakorn Pathom 73140, Thailand.
Animals (Basel). 2024 Apr 16;14(8):1197. doi: 10.3390/ani14081197.
External hoof characteristics, balance, and conformation have been extensively studied in horses; however, mules remain understudied in these aspects. This study evaluated the size, shape, and symmetry of untrimmed and unshod forelimb hooves, compared the symmetry between forelimb hooves and stratified external forelimb hoof measurements based on the body condition score of mules raised in the foothill plains of northern Thailand. The forelimb hooves of 38 mules were photographed and 33 parameters, including angular and linear measurements, were analyzed. A multivariate analysis was used to explore the influence of sex, age, and body condition scores (BCS) on angular, linear, and area parameters. Additionally, one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey's test was used to compare these parameters across different BCS groups. Despite the absence of shoeing and trimming, these mules exhibited optimal left-right forelimb hoof symmetry, with no significant ( < 0.05) differences in: outer wall length and inner wall length (OWL-IWL: Left 0.11 ± 0.66 cm; Right -0.12 ± 0.43 cm); sole length and sole width (SL-SW: Left 1.65 ± 0.76 cm; Right 1.46 ± 0.89 cm); dorsal hoof wall length and heel length (DHWL-HL: Left 4.00 ± 0.80 cm; Right 3.81 ± 0.72 cm); and frog length and frog width (FL-FW: Left 3.88 ± 1.13 cm; Right 3.82 ± 0.18 cm). However, significant ( < 0.05) differences were observed within each body condition score group for forelimb hoof measurements for DHWL, IWL, heel separation (HS), heel bulb distance (HBD), SW, FW, and FL, while sex and age had no significant differences across the study variables. These findings provide valuable insights into mule welfare and management, contributing to understanding of the interplay between overall health and hoof conformation in the study area.
马蹄的外部特征、平衡和形态已经在马匹中得到了广泛研究；然而，骡子在这些方面仍未得到充分研究。本研究评估了未修剪和未钉蹄铁的前肢蹄的大小、形状和对称性，比较了前肢蹄之间的对称性，并根据泰国北部山麓平原饲养的骡子的体况评分对前肢蹄外部进行分层测量。对38头骡子的前肢蹄进行了拍照，并分析了包括角度和线性测量在内的33个参数。采用多变量分析来探讨性别、年龄和体况评分（BCS）对角度、线性和面积参数的影响。此外，使用单因素方差分析和Tukey检验来比较不同BCS组之间的这些参数。尽管没有钉蹄铁和修剪，这些骡子的前肢蹄左右对称性最佳，在外壁长度和内壁长度（OWL - IWL：左侧0.11±0.66厘米；右侧 - 0.12±0.43厘米）、蹄底长度和蹄底宽度（SL - SW：左侧1.65±0.76厘米；右侧1.46±0.89厘米）、背侧蹄壁长度和蹄跟长度（DHWL - HL：左侧4.00±0.80厘米；右侧3.81±0.72厘米）以及蹄叉长度和蹄叉宽度（FL - FW：左侧3.88±1.13厘米；右侧3.82±0.18厘米）方面没有显著（<0.05）差异。然而，在每个体况评分组中，前肢蹄测量的DHWL、IWL、蹄跟间距（HS）、蹄跟球距离（HBD）、SW、FW和FL存在显著（<0.05）差异，而性别和年龄在研究变量中没有显著差异。这些发现为骡子的福利和管理提供了有价值的见解，有助于理解研究区域内整体健康与蹄形态之间的相互作用。
