Rising Sun Equine Clinic LLC

11/02/2024

Thermal imaging is a useful tool to clarify problems and to monitor progress. Here are some examples of how it helps us with neck problems.

07/02/2024

How do you know if your horse has a neck problem?

Difficulty bending or obvious pain are clear signs, but horses often tell us in more subtle ways. The photos show some of the things that can mean there is a neck problem.

The neck may look too small compared to the body. The upper neck muscles may look well developed but seem to stop at mid neck. This creates a hollow in the lower neck. The muscle (rhomboid muscle) just below the mane may be very tight and stick out or there may be a large step as you go from the neck to the shoulder.

Neck problems can cause poor performance, weakness in the hind legs and even front leg lameness.

07/01/2024

Let's talk about butts! Here are photos of two different hindquarters. What do you think? Can you see the asymmetries? What is different between the two?
The bay horse has an asymmetric, uneven pelvis. The red triangles and the yellow lines mark the pelvis, the right side is much lower than the left. The white lines show that his right hindquarter is smaller than the left. We can't change the shape of the pelvis in this horse, but we can help him to be his best with rehab exercises and acupuncture. The green outlines his muscles which we can improve.
The black horse's pelvis is quite even, as marked by the red triangles and the yellow lines. His muscles are a different story, especially the blue lines! The loss of muscle as seen on this horse's left side is a common problem. It usually means there is a problem in the horse's low back or SI joint. these horses are back sore or feel weak behind. This horse may need SI joint injections and can be helped with spinal manipulation and acupuncture.
What does your horse's butt look like?

05/05/2023

05/05/2023

What do you see? What is going on with this horse?
These photos are thermal images of a horse's front limbs. Red marks areas that are warm/hot. Purple and blue mark areas that are cool/cold.

In the before photo, the right front leg is cooler than the left and the pastern and foot are cold. On the inside of the left front we can see the tendon area is hot.

In the after photo we can see the temperature is more even in each leg and when we compare right and left.

This horse had neck issues that compromised the circulation to his right front. Maybe you know of a person with neck problems that has tingling or pain in their hands, this is the same thing in a horse. This horse was treated with VMM and acupuncture and the after photo was taken immediately after treatment.

06/12/2022

"I am mad because I just wasted money on x-rays, they were all normal."
Have you ever felt that way? X-rays and other diagnostic test are expensive and it is easy to feel like the money is wasted if they don't find the cause for your horse's lameness. Why do vets insist on doing expensive tests? Why can't they just fix your horse?

Unfortunately, there are only so many ways a horse can limp. It is not so hard to see which leg is the problem (sometimes!) but then we need to know; is it neurologic? or is it high like in the shoulder? or is it in the foot? or the fetlock? or the tendons? or even in the neck? or all the structures ok and it only hurts when they move a certain way? After we zero in on the problem area, now we need to find out; is it in the joint? in the joint capsule? within the bone itself? a ligament around the joint? the nerves? in the soft tissue? is it an injury or a chronic problem?

Believe it or not, before your vet recommends testing they have gone thru a long and complex process in their head. They start out with a list of everything that fits with what you have told them about your horse and with what they find by watching your horse move and doing a physical exam. For a horse that is lame in the left hind, the list may look something like:

Arthritis
Torn meniscus (stifle)
Bone cyst
High suspensory ligament damage
Sesamoiditis (near fetlock)
Improper hoof balance
Ringbone
Superficial or deep digital flexor tendon damage
Muscle tear
Stone bruise in the hoof
SI joint issue
Back pain
EPM
Diagonal pair lameness and the problem is really up front
Muscle weakness
A blocked blood vessel (ischemia)
OCD
Hoof abscess
Damage to a stifle ligament (there are many in the stifle)
Infection
Neurologic problems
Kissing spines
Muscle strain
Tying-up
PSSM

How can they narrow it down? First, they put this list in order of most likely to least likely. Then they look at the more likely causes and consider which would be the most urgent for the horse's well-being. For instance if EPM and muscle weakness were both likely causes, the vet would recommend testing for EPM because EPM left untreated can get worse and be more difficult to treat.

If the most likely causes are all specific to the left hind leg they need to find the painful area with flexion tests and nerve blocks. Once the painful area is found they need to know which structure is painful, bone, joint, tendon, or ligament. To do this they need to x-rays or ultrasound images. If these tests are normal then they need to look even farther with MRI or other advanced imaging.

Without diagnostic test to find the cause of your horse's problem the vet has to treat for what they think is the most likely cause. If that works, Hurray! If it doesn't work you have truly wasted time and money, and you still have a lame horse. So now your horse is treated for the next most likely cause and if that works, Hurray! If it doesn't more time and money are wasted. Often treating without diagnostic tests ends up being a much more expensive way to go.

So the next time your horse's x-rays are normal, celebrate! You are one step closer to finding the real problem.

22/11/2022

Ever wish you could spot changes in your horse's gait before there is a problem? We now have a tool to help with that! Tendiboots. We simply put the boots on like regular splint boots then walk for 12 seconds and trot for 7. That's it! And we get lots of information about each leg including how each leg is landing and how it is pushing off. Call me for more info or to schedule an appointment for your horse. 352-362-0074

04/07/2022

Happy Independence Day!