Lameness and Prepurchase
Our Philosophy
At Pacific Crest Sporthorse we believe it takes a horseman to fully understand the needs of your performance horse. Our veterinarians and staff are personally involved in multiple equine disciplines, from hunter/jumpers to dressage to endurance. Our deep involvement in these sports means we’re well equipped to not only help you find the right horse, but also to support your efforts to keep him sound and performing at his best.
Basic Lameness and Prepurchase Services
Lameness Examinations
Whether it’s a sudden, severe lameness a smoldering-low grade gait irregularity or simply a decline in performance, we’re prepared to help accurately diagnose and manage your horse’s soundness problems. A thorough lameness examination generally involves careful palpation and close observation of your horse in a variety of situations, as well as additional diagnostics including stress tests, nerve and joint blocks, radiographs or ultrasound evaluation. We work hard to diagnose your horse’s issues. Once a diagnosis is made, we’ll help formulate a detailed treatment, rehabilitation and long-term management plan that may involve a wide variety of different therapeutic options. We’ll work closely with you throughout the entire rehabilitation process to insure you have the support and advice you need at every step along the way. Our goal is not only to get you and your horse back in the ring as soon as possible but to keep you there.
Pre-Purchase Consultation
Our personal involvement in equestrian sports gives us a unique insight when helping you find the right horse. As the first step in a purchase consultation, we’re happy to screen sale videos of your potential prospects and review existing medical records before you even try the horse. Once you believe you’ve found your match, we’ll help you coordinate a thorough prepurchase examination. Purchase exams include a general physical and a complete lameness exam. When possible, we place particular importance on evaluating your horse while he performs in your given discipline. Additional diagnostics are also commonly part of a thorough prepurchase evaluation including digital radiographs and ultrasound, endoscopy, basic lab work and drug screens. We understand the huge commitment involved with purchasing a horse. Our goal is to help you uncover every bit of available information about your future partner to help you have confidence in your decision.
Digital Radiography
We’re excited to offer digital radiography through our TruDR by Sound Technologies system. With digital x-rays, we have instant, top quality images of your horse’s joints, skull, neck, and back. This system eliminates the need for annoying retakes and allows us the instant feedback we need to correct position and exposure. You’ll have an answer immediately—whether it’s helping you decide to write that check in a purchase exam, or confirming a diagnosis if your horse is having problems. All radiographs are then digitally archived, allowing for easy comparison of your horse over time. And archived images can be made into CDs or accessed over the internet, ensuring that farriers, surgeons, and clients have ready access to your horse’s films.
Digital Ultrasound
While our TruDR Sound System captures your horse’s bones with high quality digital radiographs, our MyLab-30 digital ultrasound unit for evaluation of soft tissues is considered one of the best in the business. The system allows for high detail, top quality imaging that helps accurately evaluate your horse’s soft tissue structures. The images are digitally archived, facilitating comparisons between follow-up evaluations. These comparison studies help us evaluate your horse’s healing progress and can be very beneficial for tailoring your horse’s rehabilitation program.
Endoscopy
Our endoscope capabilities include a three-meter video endoscope and a one-meter fiberoptic endoscope. Endoscopy has important applications for your performing horse, and may be recommended as an additional diagnostic test during a prepurchase examination. Our three-meter video endoscope allows up to visualize the lining of your horse’s stomach in order to identify gastric ulcers in addition to providing high-quality images of his upper airways. The one-meter endoscope offers us a portable alternative for obtaining samples, and examining your horse’s airways stall-side.
Beyond the Basics
We feel fortunate to have a strong working relationship with Dr’s. Mark Revenaugh and Sue Emerson of Northwest Equine Performance, one of the West Coast’s top lameness referral centers. Through NWEP we have access to advanced diagnostics including nuclear scintigraphy, as well as the therapeutic options such as Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy (ESWT) for treating tendon and ligament injuries and Interleukin Receptor Antagonist Protein (IRAP) therapy for treating degenerative joint disease. As with all of our referral relationships, we make an effort to stay involved in your horse’s care and treatment whenever we seek outside help, and will continue to guide your journey through diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation.
