The body of the equine athlete is an extremely complex structure and there are many places for problems to arise. At Twin Pines Equine, we understand how the entire horse moves and how lameness can affect that movement. Whether you have a highly competitive show horse or a weekend-warrior trail horse, we can help keep you moving as a team.
Our lameness workups include a full physical exam with back and limb palpations followed by a moving exam. We will watch the horse trot to identify potential issues and zero in on these areas by performing flexion tests. Once a limb or area is identified, we perform nerve or joint blocks. This takes away sensitivity in that area. Once an area “blocks out”, we can then identify the region where the lameness is coming from. We can further identify the cause of the lameness using imaging modalities such as radiography or ultrasonography.
We can perform all of these procedures on the farm with no need to trailer! Occasionally, if a lameness does not block out quickly, we will delay the exam and return on another day to continue. We do not like to perform too many blocks on one day as it can cause the horse to become averse to needles. Additionally, excessive needle sticks can lead to unwanted swelling.
Please check out our Digital Imaging page for more information on other diagnostics we offer!
