Maybe a post for Andypandy...?

[severnmiles]

Why are humans/sheep/dogs e.t.c scanned externally and horses are scanned internally?

 

[Maesfen]

Don't know but possibly because there are so many thick layers of skin and tissue and you're only looking for a thimble size dot! - cows are pd'd too.

 

[Fahrenheit]

That is correct, it would be impossible for a scanner to see clearly through the thickness of the horse/cow body.

 

[springfallstud]

Yes you dont scan a bitch til 5 weeks (by then i normally can tell she is in whelp myself so dont scan my bitches, not like you can short cycle them

) when you think of the rate her pups grow compared to a foal they are already quite large so easy for the scanner to pick up. With a mare it is important to know early on if she has taken so the next plan of action can be arranged.

 

[Damien]

if you type in reprodcutive organs dogs, horses, cattle etc to google you can see where the reprodcutive organs are located in each animal. With bitches they do scan externally but they they can't ever seem to say exactly how many they will have only an estimate, locating some heartbeats.

 

[severnmiles]

Hmm...found out what a waste of time scanning a bitch is earlier this week - see my post in Dogs forum!

I can understand it with cows, they have such thick skin but I guess horses are very deep bodied aren't they.

Dairy farm down the road doesn't even scan!

 

[magic104]

"Don't know but possibly because there are so many thick layers of skin and tissue and you're only looking for a thimble size dot!" Just what my vet said last year.

 

[AndyPandy]

Looks like you didn't need me at all

Seeing deep into the body with sonography is very difficult. Some acoustic energy is lost every time an echo is formed, but most of it is lost from acoustic absorption.

It's not just a case of increasing frequency as increases in depth of imaging lead to decreases in clarity of the image, so for mares and cows - it's got to be internal!

 

[Anastasia]

AP what are your thoughts on the external scanners that are available to purchase??

 

[AndyPandy]

A couple of the companies that make them have been trying to get me to test them and write testimonials for them.

They're a nice idea. However, they are based on 30 year old technology. The ones that I have tried have given pretty poor results. Stallions and geldings were pregnant according to the external scanner, and mares that were confirmed by ultrasound were not pregnant according to the machine.

It was very difficult to use, and I honestly can't see how it could possible be "98%" accurate, which is what they state.

Maybe I just had a dodgy machine to test though!

 

[severnmiles]

"Stallions and geldings were pregnant according to the external scanner"

Thats novel...can you come and scan Ernie quickly...wow think of how much my pregnant gelding would be worth... Sorry

 

[the watcher]

[ QUOTE ]
Why are humans/sheep/dogs e.t.c scanned externally and horses are scanned internally?

[/ QUOTE ]

On humans both types are used.