HomeInvestigation of poor performance
Lameness Investigation
Even very subtle lameness can lead to significant loss of performance. Many horses are ‘sound’ on straight line trot up but for whatever reason under-perform in a competition environment. We have extensive facilities to reproduce how your horse operates in competition and get right to the source of the primary condition, whether it be due to pain, pathology, metabolic conditions, training or behaviour. In our experience, most performance issues have a physiological or pathological cause; so a thorough veterinary examination would always be the first port of call for any ‘horse behaving badly’.
Treadmill Endoscopy
Many racehorses (and some sport horses) suffer from poor performance or loss of performance due to problems in the upper airway. Diagnosis of dynamic airway conditions such as laryngeal neuropathy and dorsal displacement of the soft palate is more reliable when the horse’s airway is viewed during exercise (at speeds of up to 27mph or 12m/s), for which either treadmill or overground endoscopy is required. The Equine Therapy Centre has tested over 500 horses in the last years, and have an excellent safety record. Horses are admitted three days prior to testing in order to be trained on the treadmill. (insert treadmill endoscopy pdf )
Overground Endoscopy
Photo courtesy of MED Equus Ltd
Technology has developed in the last couple of years to enable vets to scope horses telemetrically (i.e. remotely) so that the exercising larynx can now be viewed at home on the horse’s own gallops. This technique removes the need for treadmill training, but does require a suitable venue for testing and is slightly more expensive than treadmill testing. Our vets are happy to discuss your requirements with you in order to help you decide whether overground or treadmill testing would be best for your horse. (Insert endoscopy pdf)
Telemetric ECG
All our treadmill endoscopy cases also benefit from telemetric recording of the horse’s cardiac activity. In suspected cardiac cases, the Televet ECG can be taken to your yard in order to provide resting or exercising ECG recording as necessary.
Gastroscopy
Gastroscopy enables examination of the horse's oesophagus and stomach using a long, flexible endoscope. Problems such as gastric ulcers (Equine Gastric Ulcer Syndrome or EGUS) and gastric tumours can be diagnosed using this procedure. EGUS can cause poor performance as well as a number of other non-specific signs including loss of condition/weight loss, dull coat, poor appetite and even recurrent colic. EGUS is thought to affect over 90% of racehorses, up to 60% of competition horses and up to 37% of non-competition horses.
Gait Analysis
We offer gait analysis of your horse using both video and 3D gait analysis. We can provide measurements of your horse’s gait pattern which are accurate, reliable and tailored to your needs using a range of techniques including Dartfish, Pegasus and Pro-reflex softwear analysis systems. We can study your horse’s gait during normal ridden exercise or during treadmill exercise (following full training by our experienced staff) . The results are discussed with your vet, therapist and/or farrier as required, in order to address specific issues and provide you with full and relevant feedback.
