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More Informed Diagnosis
Amazing things are happening in equine lameness diagnostics. Veterinarians today have more and better ways to look for pathology than ever before, and as a result, it is becoming pos sible to diagnose lameness at an earlier stage, decide upon treatment, and monitor healing more efficiently. In addition, data storage and sharing of that data are becoming more efficient. Thanks to digital technology and medical data management software, both the written veterinary notes and the visual images gathered from a variety of diagnostic imaging modalities can be entered into a computer system that allows seamless integration of a horse's electronic medical record. The potential for early diagnosis has led to terms like "diagnostic medicine" and "preventative diagnostics," but this is not miracle medicine that can scan a sound horse and predict that sometime after training begins, the horse will suffer a bone chip or tendon tear. Rather, it is referring to zeroing in on a "hot spot" that has already manifested some early warning sign of developing lameness, before it progresses into a full-blown injury. WHERE TO LOOK Lameness refers to a gait abnormality. A horse might have just a hint of a gait abnormality that shows up only under specific conditions. Detecting a subtle gait change requires a finely tuned eye; sometimes the rider notices it before anyone on the ground detects the gait abnormality. Even subtle changes in the way a horse moves can indicate something is wrong and keep a horse from performing to its potential. "We're dealing with young, fit, athletic horses," said Dr. Don Shields, who has a Thoroughbred practice in Southern California with horses at Santa Anita Park, and his own lay-up facility, Winners Circle Ranch, in Bradbury, Calif. "We're trying to get the best performance and best soundness the animal can have, and we're trying to heal injuries as quickly as possible. That's the whole idea of all this diagnostic medicine. All of this is intended certainly to catch lameness before it becomes catastrophic, and hopefully to catch lameness before it becomes career-threatening." Continue Reading [*PDF file, 1.10 MB download] *Adobe Reader is required to view PDF files. |
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