Common Radiographic Findings in Moroccan Working Equids: A Retrospective Study (2015-2022)

Working equids are at high risk of musculoskeletal disorders due to strenuous labor, repetitive tasks, and harsh environmental conditions. This retrospective study describes the distribution of radiographically detected musculoskeletal findings in working equids presented to four Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad (SPANA) centers in Morocco, based on 498 animals and 1125 radiographs collected between 2015 and 2022. The study population was mainly composed of horses (78.1%), followed by donkeys (15.3%) and mules (6.6%). Most were males (65.7%), and the majority were between 5 and 15 years old (60.4%). The distal limb (foot, pastern, and fetlock) was the most frequently examined region (62.7%). Among the animals reviewed, 381 (76.5%) exhibited at least one radiographically detected abnormality, while 117 (23.5%) showed no visible osseous change. The most frequent findings included foot-related changes (36.2%), defined as non-fracture podiatric abnormalities, fractures (29.7%), and periosteal new bone formation (22%). Less frequent findings were degenerative joint disease (8.1%), joint subluxation or luxation (1.6%), epiphyseal abnormalities (1.6%), and angular deformities (0.8%). These results provide an overview of radiographically detected osseous changes in working equids under field conditions. They highlight the diagnostic value of radiography in low-resource environments and provide a basis for future field-based studies.