Investigations into the role of the thyrohyoid muscles in the pathogenesis of dorsal displacement of the soft palate in horses.

Reasons For Performing Study: Contributes to the understanding of the pathogenesis of dorsal displacement of the soft palate during exercise so that management of this condition could be enhanced.

Hypothesis: That the thyrohyoid muscles play an important role in the stability of the laryngo-palatal relationship and that dysfunction of these muscles leads to dorsal displacement of the soft palate (DDSP) during exercise.

Methods: Ten horses were exercised on a high-speed treadmill under 4 different treatment conditions: control conditions (n = 10), after resection of thyrohyoid muscles (TH, n = 10), after sham-treatment (n = 5), or after restoration of function of the thyrohyoid muscles with surgical sutures (prosthesis-treatment, n = 6). During trials, the following determinations were made: videoendoscopy of the upper airway, gait frequency and pharyngeal and tracheal static pressures.

Results: None of the 10 horses developed DDSP during 2 separate treadmill-exercise trials under the control conditions. Seven of the 10 horses developed DDSP after resection of the TH muscles, 4 of 5 of these horses still experienced DDSP after sham-treatment, but 5 of 6 horses no longer experienced DDSP at exercise after the prosthesis-treatment. There were significant anomalies in airway pressures, respiratory frequency, and occurrence of DDSP in both the TH resection and sham-treatment conditions compared to control conditions. In contrast, no statistical differences were noted in any of the parameters measured between the prosthesis-treatment and control conditions.

Conclusions: That the function of the TH muscles is important to the stability of the laryngo-palatal relationship and plays a role in the pathophysiology of exercise-induced DDSP.

Potential Relevance: Management of horses with DDSP could be enhanced by restoring the function of the TH muscles.