Veterinarians and horse owners can share in a tremendous amount of knowledge from the AAEP Convention. While many of the topics on surgery were designed to help the practitioner learn new techniques and aren’t applicable for the lay person, there are other topics that dealt with surgery and its uses that had a message for both veterinarian and client.

Periosteal Stripping Useful?

One of the more controversial presentations during a session on surgery was offered by Emma K. Read, DVM, of the University of Saskatchewan. Her topic dealt with periosteal stripping for young horses with angular limb deformities. (This is technically known as hemicircumferential periosteal transection and elevation.) Read had questioned whether the procedure was any more beneficial than conservative treatment with stall confinement and trimming.

At the University of Saskatchewan, a study involved taking 10 30-day-old foals, anesthetizing them, and placing a transphyseal bridge "at the distal lateral radial physis of each leg using a pair of 4.5-mm cortical screws and two strands of 1.2-mm wire" to induce angular deformity