SmartPak Monday Morning Feed: Equine Lameness Exams

Here’s a look into one of the necessary evils of horse ownership: the equine lameness exam.

We’re horse owners. We dread days like this. You know the ones. The ones when your horse comes trotting in from the pasture, but his head is bobbing and you know something is off.

Even worse are not the the single days, but the combination of days that can lead into weeks when you look at your horse and you know he is off and it’s more than a little muscle soreness from being overworked in a recent session. These are the times when you know it’s time to call the vet and get the ever-dreaded, nausea inducing lameness exam.

In this SmartPak video, Dr. Andy Kaneps of Kaneps Equine Sports Medicine and Surgery discusses lameness exams and answers these questions:

• Why are lameness exams done?
• What do you need to know when the vet arrives?
• What do you need to have on hand?
• What are the goals of the exam?