What will an x-ray show?

sychnant

sychnant

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Sounds like a daft question... but my vet wants to x-ray my horse and I'm not sure I see the benefits. So, to help me decide, please tell me the sorts of things an x-ray will show, i.e. bone damage, tendon/ligament damage, infection, soft tissue damage...

Thankyou :)
 
Exactly what is the problem? He must have a good reason for wanting to X-ray? Ours have had x-rays to show up suspected chips and fractures, plus a couple when there was thought to be the possibility of degenerative disease.
 
An xray will show solely bony pathology.

It is not actually very sensitive to all bony lesions (if they are subtle) however are useful in ruling out gross pathology. It shows some degenerative change depending on the stage of degeneration.

It will show bone infection.

It will not show any soft tissue injuries including tendon/ligament.

I would recommend using xrays WITH ultrasound (providing the vet is competent at interpreting u/s images). US can show lesions on the tendons and ligaments and also some tears. It is also not very specific but can also show gross pathology of the soft tissue structures.


If nothing shows up on either of the scans then the ideal imaging would be MR however it comes at a cost and most insurers like cheaper imaging to be done first in order to rule out gross pathology.
 
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They have no idea what is wrong and suggested x-rays as a first diagnostic option. Having said it was definitely an abscess, they are now stumped.

I am going to call the Equine vets tomorrow as what with this and a couple of other problems I am losing the trust a bit.

They do not think it is a bony problem and do not think there is infection as he is not lame enough.

I'm also thinking of thermography as my friend had a very good result with it - although he is currently on a bute trial as there is a possibility it is arthritis, so may see how that goes first :p
 
not necessarily depending on the stage of degeneration.

Although in most cases, if the horse is symptomatic, then I would expect it to
 
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