FRACTURES of the long pastern bone, one of the bones forming the fetlock joint, are among the most common fractures affecting the racehorse.

Fractures in the pastern are most commonly sagittal fractures where the bone fractures straight down the centre. Described colloquially as a ‘split pastern’, such fractures typically range from incomplete non-displaced fractures, where the fracture line extends from the fetlock joint downwards into the pastern bone, to complete displaced fractures which extend the whole way through the bone from the fetlock joint into the pastern joint.