The most common site for bone cysts is in the stifle. These cases have been attributed to trauma to the joint. Occasionally bone cysts have been seen to develop in mature horses. The association with young growing bones is why this condition is most typically seen in horses aged 6 months to 3 years of age. Failure of this cartilage to mature to bone (endochondral ossification) can lead to the degeneration of the malformed cartilage and the formation of a bone cyst. OCD presents differently from bone cysts and requires different treatment.Ī cartilage template precedes bone formation in young growing bone. Bone cysts should not be confused with osteochondrosis dessicans (OCD) as this pertains to articular cartilage flaps and loose fragments within the joint.
They can result from direct trauma to the articular surface, or they can be one outcome of a developmental condition called osteochondrosis. Bone cysts are a condition that frustrate horse owners, and although they are a relatively common occurrence, how and why they develop is still not fully understood or agreed upon.īone cysts are cyst-like structures that develop below the articular cartilage surface of joints.
