Cervical vertebral compressive myelopathy associated with articular processes osteoarthritis in three horses

Abstract

Cervical vertebral compressive myelopathy is a neuropathy resulting in ataxia in horses. Three horses with different signs of incoordination were presented for further evaluation. A five-year-old gelding with a long history of abnormal head and neck carriage, a six-yearold gelding with a history of previous neurological episodes and a two-day history of acute episodes of walking difficulties, and a sixteenyear-old mare with a one-month history of left fore-limb ataxia were diagnosed with osteoarthritis of the facet joints of the caudal cervical vertebrae. Lateral radiographs of caudal cervical vertebrae confirmed osteoarthritis of the articular processes. Radiographic changes, such as enlargement of the articular process joint, periarticular new bone and reduction or narrowing of the intervertebral foramen, were observed in all three cases. Cervical vertebral compressive myelopathy should be considered in ataxic horses with normal laboratory findings.