Equine thermography (the inner picture)

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Blythwind

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Has anyone had a thermal scan of their horse to diagnose any mystery lameness/behavioural issues?

If so, what for and was it worth it? I am thinking of using the lady from The Inner Picture, but any details on previous experiences would be useful.

Thanks x
 
wench said:
It cannot diagnose...

However can be a useful tool in showing where problems come from.
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Ditto ^^^ Although some vets nonchantly dismiss thermal imaging as in my case they then nerve blocked said it was SI and when medicating that area didnt work they said it could be patella ligaments which is exactly where the hot spots were on my Thermal Images!!
 
I'm planning to have one very soon. A new livery moved in and she does them - bonus!!! Mines sound but behaving very peculiarly so may shed some light for where to start at vets.
 
I've used the Inner Picture and wouldnt hesitate to use them again in the future, the vets were totally unsure where my mares problems were - there verdict was to nerve block from the hoof and work upto the shoulder to pin point it, one visit from the inner picture and we knew exactly where the issue was, plus a few other places that were hot spots! Some of the best money i have spent on my horses in a long time IMO
 
Sorry - I didn't mean diagnose, more 'identify'.

Thanks for the responses - I think I will definitely have a scan then and see what it reveals. X
 
Unless they image right off the lorry while the horse had been sweating under a rug like they did to my friends horse....

It has its place dont get me wrong but I think there are too many variables to get a clear picture of what is going on and its very superficial
 
Yes - a brilliant system for identifying possible problem areas, we've been using it in NZ since at least 1992, though vets seem to be very slow at catching on!

Even seen it used to identify areas on the saddle that are not fitting well - horse is first ridden, back of horse is scanned and underside of saddle is also scanned to detect the hot spots.

A scan from many years ago of one of our school horses

 
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Tnavas said:
Yes - a brilliant system for identifying possible problem areas, we've been using it in NZ for about 18 years or so, though vets seem to be very slow at catching on!

Even seen it used to identify areas on the saddle that are not fitting well - horse is first ridden, back of horse is scanned and underside of saddle is also scanned to detect the hot spots.
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It is good for showing contact with saddles and stuff! Not so good for medical things for reasons above :)
 
Nightmare before Christmas said:
It is good for showing contact with saddles and stuff! Not so good for medical things for reasons above :)
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Sorry you are very wrong - It is an EXCELLENT means - the first horse the system was used on in New Zealand was a racehorse that had lameness issues - the vets had done all manner of tests on it but could not identify why or where the problem was.

The thermal imaging found a hot spot in the horses knee - they found a joint mouse that Xrays and all other scans had missed - Mouse removed, horse sound and went on to do well as a racehorse.

I have videos that I'd need to edit of several horses that have had strange soreness/lameness issues and thermography found the spots that were the origin of the problems - along with vet and chiro these horses recovered as treatment was able to be targeted.
 
Tnavas said:
Sorry you are very wrong - It is an EXCELLENT means - the first horse the system was used on in New Zealand was a racehorse that had lameness issues - the vets had done all manner of tests on it but could not identify why or where the problem was.

The thermal imaging found a hot spot in the horses knee - they found a joint mouse that Xrays and all other scans had missed - Mouse removed, horse sound and went on to do well as a racehorse.

I have videos that I'd need to edit of several horses that have had strange soreness/lameness issues and thermography found the spots that were the origin of the problems - along with vet and chiro these horses recovered as treatment was able to be targeted.
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Fair enough its never been of any proved use to any horses ive seen have it, bar for saddle fitting problems. I guess the structures of the equine leg are more superficial than muscles that often cause pain in the horses back and so the imaging may be of more use to the limb. It is something I would love to test at some point
 
Nightmare before Christmas said:
Fair enough its never been of any proved use to any horses ive seen have it, bar for saddle fitting problems. I guess the structures of the equine leg are more superficial than muscles that often cause pain in the horses back and so the imaging may be of more use to the limb. It is something I would love to test at some point
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The others I used it on all had upper body problems, and thermography images pinpointed the hot areas. Really must see if I can get the video onto disc and some individual pics.
 
Tnavas said:
The others I used it on all had upper body problems, and thermography images pinpointed the hot areas. Really must see if I can get the video onto disc and some individual pics.
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Yeah I would be interested to see :) Are there different qualities of imagining? Maybe the ones used by vets local to me arnt great (or maybe the vets arnt great imaging horses right after travel rugs and boots have been taken off and pointing out the hot areas as issues when the horse has clearly been sweating under its protection!)
 
She's very good use her on a regular basis. When he was a bit off I had him scanned and it showed a white hot spot on his hock, so skipped all the tests and had him straight for x-rays at the vets as he had a hock spavin there a few years previously, true enough he one in the other tarsal joint this time. Saved me a lot of time and money at the vets as didn't bother doing other tests as the scan indicated a lot of heat in that area. Highly recommend.
 
Physios absolutely love it - makes their life so much easier when you can pinpoint a hotspot for them! Also you have to prep properly for an image - you won;t get a good image if the horse is fresh off a trailer. They need to be unrugged and out of the sun for an hour prior to getting a good quality, unbiased image. I've known arthritic changes be picke dup, as well as a quick and noninvasive way of tellign whether a lump is cancerous or not... loads of useful aspects to it. It's very big in the States now... it's only really just hitting the UK!
 
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