ridden lameness exams in performance horses
A ridden lameness exam allows the veterinarian to watch the horse while doing its job and at other gaits besides the walk and trot, which can help veterinarians garner additional information about potential problems. | Photo: Erica Larson/The Horse

Traditionally, veterinarians performing lameness examinations have assessed horses’ gaits as they’re walked and trotted by a handler.

“We’ve spent years and textbooks watching horses in-hand, picking apart the head nod, the hip hike, the lame limb,” said Elizabeth Davidson, DVM, Dipl. ACVS, ACVSMR, associate professor of sports medicine at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine’s New Bolton Center, in Kennett Square.

And while this is a valuable gait assessment, it can be augmented by also evaluating the horse while it’s being ridden. Davidson described the importance of the ridden exam during the 2018 British Equine Veterinary Association Congress, held Sept. 12-15, in Birmingham, U.K

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