A fracture is the great fear of every horse owner, because it can have terrible consequences. For several years now, equine veterinary medicine has made tremendous progress, and the idea that a fracture in a horse cannot be cured is far away. Despite this, treating a fracture in an animal that can easily exceed 500 kilos is not always easy. We will discover together the main causes of fractures in horses, how best to treat them, and what research says about CBD (cannabidiol) and bone healing.
What's a fracture?
A fracture is a bone that has been subjected to enough stress to partially or totally break. Sometimes, depending on the nature of the stress, a bone may even be broken in several places. This fracture can be the result of a fall, a shock, a fatigue fracture, osteoporosis, etc. Most injuries are closed, but in the most serious cases, by breaking the bone, the skin can be torn, and this is known as an open fracture. The bone may even have shifted out of alignment, leaving fragments, or not. There is a fracture specific to foals and young horses: the green wood fracture. Because in these young animals, the skeleton is not yet as strong as in the adult horse. It is therefore rather soft, and does not break cleanly, but breaks like a branch of green wood. Thus, the bone of the foal or young horse will not break, but it will bend more with bone tears.
Diagnosis
If you think your horse has broken a bone, don't move it, and call your veterinarian urgently. He will question you to better understand the situation, (circumstances, time of injury, location of pain, etc.), and will proceed to a clinical examination of your animal. After the examination, an X-ray will confirm the diagnosis, pinpoint the exact location of the bone injury, and possibly collect other important information. (is the bone broken in several places, are other bones affected, etc.).
Treatment
The management of a fracture in a horse is not an easy task. Once the nature of the injury is well established, the veterinarian will be able to immobilize the fractured limb in its normal anatomical position, and give the horse powerful painkillers. Depending on the seriousness of the injury, the horse should be kept in the stall, in order to limit its movements as much as possible. Later, the veterinarian may choose a lighter pain treatment, so that the horse, still feeling some discomfort, spares the injured limb. During the horse's convalescence, and to ensure a good recovery, further X-rays will be taken to monitor the progress of the treatment. If the horse must be taken to a specialized clinic, the veterinarian will give you all the information you need to move your animal in good safety conditions.
CBD and bone healing
CBD (cannabidiol) is one of the popular cannabinoids. It is obtained from industrial hemp (Cannabis Sativa). Unlike recreational cannabis, which is rich in THC (Cannabis Indica, which is illegal), Cannabis Sativa contains almost no THC in its natural state, less than 0.3%, which is why hemp flowers and leaves may be sold in France. Cannabidiol (CBD) is the subject of much research, mostly preclinical, but no CBD product sold to the public is a veterinary medicine. Here is what research on rats has explored about CBD and fractures.
- Scientists from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem reported in a study published in 2015 that cannabidiol improved the biomechanical properties of healing fractures in rats.
- In this work, cannabidiol (CBD) was also associated with an increased activity of the enzymes responsible for the cross-linking of collagen, a protein very important in the construction of connective tissue.
These results on rats cannot be transposed to horses and do not allow any conclusion. A fractured horse is a veterinary emergency: only your veterinarian can treat it, and no product should be given to it without his advice. The International Equestrian Federation (FEI) also lists cannabidiol as a "controlled medication", not allowed in a horse during competition.
