Recent study results suggest that bone scanning can be useful in a lameness workup, but it’s not the most reliable diagnostic tool for issues thought to originate in the hoof. | Photo: Courtesy Oregon State University

If you’re considering a whole-body bone scan to find out if your horse’s lameness or poor performance might be due to foot pain, think again. Recent study results suggest that scintigraphy (bone scanning) might be useful in a lameness workup, but it’s not the most reliable diagnostic tool overall.

Scintigraphy can provide the practitioner with information about some injuries related to bone or soft-tissue connections to bone, but it might not reveal many other sources of foot pain, said Sue Dyson, MA, VetMB, PhD, DEO, Dipl. ECVSMR, FRCVS, head of Clinical Orthopedics at the Animal Health Trust Centre for Equine Studies, in Newmarket, England.

Essentially, if the scan gives a negative result, that doesn’t mean there’s no injury, Dyson said. And if the scan gives a positive result, that doesn’t mean it’s the only injury