” The Dream Team!”
So, this week gone by was actually really exciting for me, as an avid equestrian and a technology enthusiast, I was allowed to tag along to a visit with what I have decided to label ‘The Dream Team’!
Wow! This takes a lameness assessment to a whole new level. I guess 20 years ago when we wanted to fit a saddle the rule of thumb was ‘can you see light?’ and now it is a science, 20 years ago we trotted a horse out and felt for heat to test for lameness and then a bit of stall rest and maybe some touch and go shoeing, polticing, icing and bandaging etc, a bit of a hit and miss approach…
A bit of back story on this particular case:
The owner is reporting that the horse just doesn’t seem to be moving right. The mare is not lame, there is no heat on any of her legs, no swellings nor abrasions. It is simply that she is not as fluid in her movements as normal.
Dr. Jeanné Botha and Anthony Ward assisted by Lindsey Ward, combined their in-depth knowledge and amazing technology to diagnose an otherwise sound horse.
I am going to give a layman’s break down of the events that unfolded – and I am in no way an expert in either corrective shoeing nor veterinary science, so again I will repeat the word ‘layman’.
The afternoon started off with understanding the perceived problem, then a sensor was placed on each front hoof and the mare was walked and trotted out. From the side lines and seeing the horse’s movement, it was evident she was not lame, but only possibly, ever so slightly noticeable was that her stride in the trot was ever so slightly uneven.
This led to a preliminary discussion regarding some corrective shoeing that would have led to the right hoof being more balanced, creating more balance in the landing and break over etc.
The data collected from the sensors revealed, in great detail, that the right front hoof was coming down faster and more abruptly than what the left front hoof was and the stride and foot fall was definitely uneven. The data also revealed that the left hoof was landing quite centrally however the right front hoof was landing off centre. None of this would have been really evident to the eye at all, let alone getting an exact differentiation in the timing of the strides!
Part two of two of the assessment was a set of X-rays…
Meander down memory lane: I had a gelding who came off the track with a sesamoid fracture, he needed x-rays every few months, and I recalled the drudge it was, the imaging equipment was chunky and, well to be honest a bit of a pain in the rear end, and I still had to wait a few days for the feedback and I would just like to remind you, I think I was the very first of the millennials – it’s all about right now for me…
… Jeanné’s imaging equipment surprised me a little, it is all wireless, the imaging detail is out of this world (you can invert the images, remove soft tissue and so much more, it actually got me a little giddy) and I am still not sure the mare was even aware that she was standing for X-rays. Oh wait, I forgot to mention, the imaging is immediately viewable, the millennial in me is hopping around like a three year old with a sugar rush, from all this excitement and instant gratification!
In a matter of, what felt to me to be about 10 minutes, Jeanné had made a very surprising diagnosis, not a welcomed diagnosis, but none the less. The mare had a fracture to the front left pedal bone which then explained the shorter stride on the front right and the time difference in how quickly she almost slammed that hoof down. What the data revealed when used in conjunction with the x-rays was that she had been compensating to avoid too much time and pressure on the hoof with the fracture.
Anthony shod the mare, this time with the diagnosis in mind, and then he ran the tests again. In the second test there was quite a remarkable difference, the stride were almost perfectly even as was the foot fall, the timing differentiation was substantially decreased and the break over was also more even.
Personally, I was astonished at what this team work and partnership was able to accomplish in such a short period of time. I am in awe of how these two people using their skills and the best possible technology available to them in their respective fields, can come together and make such an amazing difference. For the mare, the most invasive part of this entire exercise was the hammering in of the nails… All the testing is completely non invasive, yielding immediate results.
I realise in order to save on very expensive bills, owners tend to start with the most obvious symptom, find a remedy and hope it resolves the entire issue. I will shamefully admit to being an owner who has, in the past, done exactly that. Right after the ‘let’s give it a day or two to see if it resolves itself’ strategy, evidently failed. Say it with me: NO HOOF NO HORSE!
At this point I feel it fair to also admit that I then spent a small fortune on various different experts to visit my horse, all of whom confirmed what I thought I was seeing, all of whom gave me a different expert diagnosis, and a different treatment. That was until I found the best person, who gave me the exact diagnosis and who then was able to give me a solution which finally worked!
In closing, I would like to say, do it right the first time. In many cases the prognosis of recovery is dependent on quickly establishing the true diagnosis as well as timeous and correct treatment. Again, I would like to reiterate my little disclaimer from above, I am writing this article as a complete layperson, only relating that which is in my understanding.
~ Written by Charmaine Swinburn