Suspensory Desmitis (PSD): A Case Study

Appropriate conformation is important to allow the horse to be stabilized, powerful and maneuverable as well as maintain soundness over the animal's lifetime. It is not guaranteed a horse with uneven muscling or bone structure will be lame, but there is a chance and most owners do not want to take the risk on a potential lame horse. Additionally, there are horses with structural problems that go on to be great champions but the chances are not as great a horse with perfect conformation . However, understanding and observing conformation is one of the most reliable skills to predict both athletic and soundness ability in a majority of

To evaluate conformation and gait analysis, an example of a thoroughbred racehorse was examined to show structure and balance; good conformation within perimeters; way of going through photographic evidence to support gait analysis. The horse is a 6 year old, 15.3hh thoroughbred racehorse who has a good pedigree, has won and placed in races on

Osorio, M. (n.d.). Phantom Limbs: What is the Cause of Sensation? Retrieved March 16, 2017, from

The equine industry is rapidly changing and what is asked of a horse. The sports that are being played with horses are more physical causing the injuries the horses are acquiring to be more severe and different than what has been seen before. There are major injuries and there are minor injuries. All minor injuries can be turned into major injuries if they are not found in time. A main issue in horses is they hide some injuries for as long as three weeks as a survival instinct. Equine thermography has brought new light to this issue allowing issues and injuries to be found before a horse will show the issues.

Twenty American Quarter Horse geldings, aged between four and eight years and weighing ideally 1,000 to 1,300 pounds, shall be used. All horses should ideally be non-athletes that were previously kept as pleasure riding horses. The horses will be completely evaluated clinically and ultrasonongraphically by veterinarians blinded to the study before the experiment to ensure that there are no preexisting health conditions to hinder healing, or any history or signs of previous injuries to the superficial digital flexor tendon. All horses will be placed in individual stalls and paddocks and adapted to their new daily routines for thirty days before the start of the experiment to allow acclimation. Any horses that obtain injury or disease during the course of the study will be removed from the study group to reduce confounding and returned to their provider.

can cause a dilemma. In horses that are willing to accept and need healing this can be a big

This lab took place at the Linn Benton Horse Center, and it was an introduction to halter horses and how to judge them. We looked at three stallions; two were halter horses and one wasn’t. We assessed their balance, muscling, and structural conformation in the way that a halter judge would.

Patient unable to walk heel to toe, perform the Romberg test, stand on one foot, or perform a shallow knee bend without risk of falling. The patient complains of lower back, hip, and knee pain. . Assessed patient’s pain at this time. Patient states that, “the pain is felt in her lower back, hips, and knees constantly and relieved with ibuprofen” she rated the pain a 4 on a scale from 0 to 10. Patient stated, “lower back always aches.” Described the pain as constant and dull. Affects her activities of daily living because she “isn’t able to cook, clean, or exercise.” In a supine position the patient, with help, was able to extend legs upwards about 40 degree and flex hips with limited range of motion. Patient was able to resist with light resistance when pressure was applied to the legs anteriorly and posteriorly. Sitting back in the patient’s chair, the patient was able to bend at the hip. No pain or tenderness felt when palpating the spinous process. The patient was able to actively flex and extend the ankle joints with limited range of motion and some resistance with support under the lower leg. The patient was able to flex and extend the feet with limited range of motion and some resistance. No pain or crepitus with flexion and extension of the feet and ankles. Inspected the patient’s skin of the anterior and posterior legs, ankles, and feet. The skin of the upper legs were dry, with

Exam was 5/5 in the upper extremity and right lower extremity. She had 5-/5 of her left quadriceps. Tone was normal. Sensation was intact to primary modalities.

Although complicated and difficult, the post-operative care is more time consuming and labour intensive because the horse must be confined to its stall for weeks and possibly months. Because they are unable to stay still and off the broken limb for the duration of the recovery, a sling is often used to help immobilize the horse and take the weight off the healing limb. The sling is hung from the ceiling and is placed around the thorax and abdomen which can lead to pressure sores and lung damage because all the weight of the animal is concentrated on these two areas. On the other hand, Dr. Montgomery’s device is deemed safer and more effective because the sling is not only around the thorax and abdomen, but also around the chest and upper hind legs which helps distribute the weight more evenly. This device also allows the horse to be mobile while recovering and slowly adding its own body weight to the healing limb which prevents muscle

Doctor of Veterinary Medicine Kevin Haussler’s theory on why equine physical therapy is not mainstream is “The premise among some veterinarians is the animals heal so well on their own that they don’t need physical therapy, but many animals do need physical therapy... We generally rely on the horse to heal himself we turn the horse out to pasture and hope he improves.” (qtd. in Bryant). Some simple physical therapy techniques are considered “alternative” therapies in the horse world, such as chiropractic care and massage (Bryant Sec. 1, 3 and Pascoe; Carter Sec. 1). Not all physical therapy methods can translate to horses, for example, the use of functional training.

Horses that are used for professional showing or athletic competitions are inclined to receive an injury involving tendons or ligaments, which can be career or life ending depending on the severity. The injured soft tissue usually has a poor blood supply so they are prone to healing with scar tissue. This makes the healed area less elastic and decreases the function of the tendon or ligament, and re-injury to the soft tissue increases. Another issue associated with soft tissue injuries is the inflammation of a tendon called tendonitis that can be seen in 43% of horses returning to work (Alves AG, Stewart AA, et al, 2011). Because of these issues regenerative therapy has been considered a more effective way to stimulate healing for orthopedic injuries.

Connecticut Equine Clinic is the premier equine veterinary clinic in the Coventry, Connecticut region. Equine podiatry is the understanding of the form and function of the horse foot. Combining information from a physical exam, radiology and ultrasound with therapeutic farriery can relieve and prevent foot problems. Many problems associated with lowered performance and perceived behavioral issues may actually be signs of pain in the feet. Refusing jumps, difficulty in executing leads, loss of performance and more can indicate foot pain. Hock, stifle, caudal heels, knees back and even biting problems may simply be pain and damage as the result of hoof imbalances. Taking preemptive action can optimize long term health and welfare of the horse and reduce or avoid down time.

Scapular fracture is uncommon in horses. Because of the appropriate protection of scapula by muscles, fractures mostly occur through the acromion process near the shoulder joint (1,2,3,4). Fractures can occur as a result of direct damage such as falling heavily to one side or not often as a result of a misstep. Fracture of the blade or body of scapula is rare (1) and can occur in racehorses as stress fractures of the scapula. Frequency of fractures is equal in both forelimbs of horses (5). Due to the significant role of scapular fractures in lameness and poor performance in horses, early diagnosis is highly desirable. . Scapular fractures involving acromion process can be recognized by radiography. Because of the superimposition of the thorax

All horse owners worry about their horses becoming lame. Lameness in a horse can take away from training time, cause the horse pain, and possibly end their life. Veterinarians dedicate a lot of time and effort into finding out what causes lameness. Veterinarians also spend time and effort into how to heal different types of causes of lameness. Three causes of lameness are laminitis, also known as founder, navicular disease, and osselets.