Equine Lameness Exams in Ocala
Ocala Lame Horse Treatment
Lameness can be described as any alteration in the horse’s gait. Our skilled lameness clinicians use their years of skill and education to localize the source of the lameness in horses in Ocala, across the state, and beyond.
The equine lameness exam will begin by gathering your horse’s medical and farriery history and work/exercise routine through a series of questions, conversations, and previous medical records.
Our vets at Florida Equine Veterinary Associates will conduct a visual appraisal of your horse at rest and then evaluate conformation, balance, and weight-bearing, and look for any signs of injury or stress.
What is involved in an equine lameness exam in Ocala?
A complete hands-on examination will be conducted in search of pain, heat, or swelling of muscles, joints, bones, and tendons.
This might be as simple as palpating an abnormal area or eliciting a pain response after manipulating a specific area. Alternatively, it may involve regional analgesia of nerves and/ or joints to eliminate the lameness and localize the source of unsoundness to a particular area.
Our vets will evaluate the movement of the horse at a walk and trot for several signs including head bobbing, switching leads, stiffness, shortening of the stride, and poor performance.
Joint flexion tests will illuminate any subtle signs of pain and irregular movement. Further diagnostics may be required including blocking joints and nerves with a local anesthetic to pinpoint the origin of the lameness. Once isolated, imaging with X-rays and ultrasound can help determine the precise problem causing the lameness.
When do we use the Equinosis Lameness Locator?
Whilst the trained eye is adept at localizing lameness there are occasions when our specialists cannot see enough to identify subtle lameness. Or, a permanent record of a horse's soundness is required. Occasionally, multiple limb lameness cases may require a more objective technique to identify all the sources of lameness. For these cases, we are delighted to offer the Lameness Locator™.
The Lameness Locator is a wireless computer-assisted motion analysis system used to objectively detect and evaluate lameness patterns in the horse. Using sensors non-invasively placed on the horse, body movement data is wirelessly transmitted to a computer for analysis and storage. The system is able to detect asymmetries in gait that may not be seen by the human eye.
New Patients Welcome
Florida Equine Veterinary Associates is passionate about the health of sport and performance horses. Get in touch today to book your equine athelete's first appointment.