LAMENESS

Our goal is to partner with owners and trainers to maximize the performance of their equine athletes. Whether your horse’s job is roping, barrel racing, reining, sorting, cutting, eventing, show jumping, dressage, trail riding, packing, or living a comfortable retirement as a kid’s horse or companion, we want them to be comfortable and able to perform at their best.

We do this by accurately identifying both clinical lameness and subtle issues that may not be readily apparent but still effect performance. Most soundness issues are not from one problem. The interplay of the horse’s four limbs and axial skeleton present a complex domino effect when one part is hurting and other areas compensate. Lameness diagnosis and treatment is both science and art requiring a keen eye, precise diagnostic anesthetic techniques, high resolution imaging and state of the art treatment modalities.

Our skilled veterinarians begin with a visual assessment of your horse’s gait. Use of hoof testers, palpation and manipulation of the limbs are part of the assessment. Flexions and diagnostic analgesia are often used to localize lameness. Advanced diagnostic imaging with our digital radiograph machine or ultrasound is used to identify cause and severity of lameness.

Once the origin of lameness is identified, a treatment plan can be made. Some treatment options may include: rehabilitation protocols, pain medications, joint injections, chiropractic adjustment, or shockwave. We offer several regenerative therapy options that utilize the body’s own cells and proteins to help heal damaged tissues.  Regenerative options such as Pro-stride, interleukin 1 receptor antagonist (IRAP) and Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) are used to aid in the healing of tendons, ligaments, and cartilage. Digitally guided delivery techniques allow us to administer these treatments directly into injured tissues to get horses back to work quicker and reduce the number of repeat injuries. Navicular disease continues to be a leading cause of lameness in the western performance horse. Treatment modalities like OsPhos and digitally guided navicular bursa injections aid in the management of this challenging condition.