‘Splint’ is the common name given to an inflammatory condition of the splint bones involving injury to the interosseous ligament or to the periosteum (the soft tissue covering bone) of the splint bones or adjacent bones. It usually occurs in young growing horses involved in heavy training but can also originate from tearing of the interosseous ligament, external trauma to the bone, or secondary to healing of a fracture.
Splints commonly occur in 2 to 3-year-old horses, occasionally 4 years and older, and are usually associated with training and subsequent injury. They generally occur on the inside (medial) forelimb splint, about 5 to 10 centimetres below the knee (carpus), although they can also occur on the outside (lateral) splint of the front or hind legs.
