An accurate diagnosis is imperative to pinpointing and treating lameness in horses. Fortunately, veterinarians today have more sound and accurate options for identifying specific issues than they did just 10 years ago, said Kent Allen, DVM, owner of Virginia Equine Imaging, a specialty sports imaging practice in The Plains, who presented April 26 at a University of Kentucky Department of Veterinary Science Equine Diagnostic and Research Seminar. That, he shared in his presentation, is good for the horse, the veterinarian, and the owner. 

"Absent a diagnosis, medicine is poison, surgery is trauma, and regenerative medicine is witchcraft," he said.

Allen touched on several imaging modalities during his presentation but stressed that, in most cases, the sole use of any one technique is not enough to reach a proper diagnosis. "Wait until all the information is in before you try to interpret results," he cautioned. "None of these (diagnostic imaging modalities) without a detailed clinical evaluation are a magic answer