AHT Life Magazine 2018

Leading science and care for animals
The Centre for
Equine Studies
Evidence-based advice can help all
horses – from elite competition horses,
to beloved family ponies
The best treatment relies on the best knowledge;
which is the foundation of all the services offered
within our Equine Clinic. As competition riders
themselves, our experts have developed a greater
understanding of sports horse injuries and the
demands on these horses, but can also empathise
with the position of riders and owners of horses
and ponies of all types.
As well as first-hand experience in the field, our
orthopaedic specialists, Dr Sue Dyson and Dr Rachel
Murray, and our sports medicine specialist, Dr Annamaria
Nagy, carry out their own research to increase the
knowledge available for vets, owners and trainers. This
enables us to better protect horses from potential injuries
and to provide improved diagnostic techniques and
treatments when these animals need our help.
Our team’s forte is the investigation of poor performance
and lameness. Many signs of lameness go unrecognised
and take an expert eye to spot. A lameness examination
does not simply involve the assessment of a horse
‘trotting up’ in straight lines. Observing the horse on the
lunge and during ridden exercise, especially performing
the type of work it normally has to do, is paramount to
the team being able to successfully identify, diagnose and
treat the underlying problem.
We are very privileged to have an extensive suite of
diagnostic imaging facilities on-site (X-ray, ultrasound,
high and low field MRI
and scintigraphy) to
offer comprehensive
evaluations, in order
to determine a
bespoke treatment and
rehabilitation programme
for each horse.
It is always our aim to
share the knowledge we
Observing on the lung
gain from the patients we see in the clinic, so that our
scientific and clinical findings can be translated into reallife
benefits for horses all around the world. This ethos
has enabled us to educate owners, trainers and vets to
recognise signs of discomfort in horses earlier, so that
underlying problems such as lameness can be recognised
sooner. If this can be achieved, it is much more likely that
a horse will get an accurate diagnosis and the problem
can be managed more successfully.
For information on our equine oncology services, go to pages 10 and 11
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AHT Life