Like many areas of horse care, veterinary inspection of horses for sale often raises questions as well as answers. Whether the issue at hand is how to properly take radiographs or interpret them, or the significance of endoscopic upper airway examinations, these questions are often asked within the veterinary profession as well as without. The Purchase Exams at Auction Forum on Dec. 2 at the American Association of Equine Practitioners Convention in Seattle, Wash., provided an opportunity for members to discuss these topics.

Co-moderator Roger Murphy, DVM, of Lexington, Ky., opened the session by noting that an instructional DVD on proper radiograph positioning for auction repositories is in the works and will hopefully be completed in December 2006. Jeffrey Berk, VMD, of Ocala Equine Hospital in Ocala, Fla., will be handling that process, and the DVD will be available free of charge to any AAEP member who would like one. Interested parties should contact the AAEP office at 859/233-0147 to request a copy once they are completed.

"We just want to take out the guesswork so we’re all comfortable with what we’re trying to see on these radiographs," Murphy said