A COMPARISON OF GROWTH-RATES OF NORMAL THOROUGHBRED FOALS AND FOALS DIAGNOSED WITH CERVICAL VERTEBRAL MALFORMATION

The objectives of this study were to compare the growth rates of norma l thoroughbred foals to previously reported growth rates1 and to compa re growth rates of normal foals with foals diagnosed with cervical ver tebral malformation (CVM). Fifty-six foals from two foals crops were u sed, and eight of these foals were diagnosed with CVM. Growth rate ana lysis of the CVM foals had to be restricted to the period prior to dia gnosis because once these foals were diagnosed, they were treated diff erently from the normal foals. Body measurements taken at 7 day interv als were body weight, wither height, hip height, and heart girth. For statistical analysis, data were broken down into 30 day intervals. Res ults showed that the growth rates for normal thoroughbred foals have n ot changed in the past fifteen years. The CVM foals tended to be heavi er and taller during some time intervals than the normal foals, but th ere were no significant differences between the two groups in any of t he skeletal growth measurements. Body weight gain was faster in CVM fo als from 31-60 d (p<.01), 121-150 d (p<.01), and 211-240 d (P<.05).