CHAPTER 108 Pelvic Fractures
Historically, pelvic fractures have been considered to be an infrequent cause of lameness in horses, accounting for less than 5% of all lameness. It is well documented that young horses are predisposed to pelvic fractures: in one study, 60% of the horses were less than 2 years of age, and 76% were less than 4. Although it has also been reported that young females are more likely to sustain a fracture than young males, findings from a recent retrospective study of young horses with pelvic fractures indicated that male and female horses were equally affected. Most recently, pelvic stress fractures have been found to be a common cause of lameness in skeletally immature Thoroughbred racehorses. Although the etiologies of the two types of fractures are different, the practitioner still faces the challenges of diagnosing and predicting a prognosis for these horses.