The main problem that farriers face in practice is the lameness of the horse and its diagnosis. The human eye is not able to see movement deviations in the range of eg 6mm within a distance of 10 m. It has been proven from many years of practice that almost 80% of movement problems in horses can be solved by farriers. For this reason, the Farrier specialist needs knowledge and skills to accurately diagnose lameness, to evaluate its causes, to perform farrier treatment and shoeing, and to evaluate retrospectively the effectiveness of the measures taken.

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For accurate, fast and absolutely objective diagnostisc is used modern system:

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Equinosis Q with Lameness locator

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Creator of the device and the whole system is Mr. Kevin G. Keegan, DVM, MS, DACVS, inventor and founder of the Equinosis company in Columbia - Missouri.

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What si system Equinosis and Lameness locator ?

Equinosis Q with Lameness locator device is a modern veterinary diagnostic system used for objective evaluation of the movement of the horse and its deviations.  If we want to examine a lameness in a horse, it is necessary to focus on the most important thing - movement analysis.

 

The system provides instant analysis to assess whether the horse is lame, the severity of the pain, the limb or limbs affected and the phase of movement of the limb in which is the pain most pronounced. 

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What the Equinosis with Lameness locator system contains?

The system is stored in a cassette case and includes: a Lameness Locator tablet, two sets of sensors (head, pelvis and right leg) and one sensor for the rider, USB antenna for attaching horse sensors and data acquisition, magnets for sensor and the Lameness Locator System activation, the neoprene cover for attachement of the sensors to the head and leg of the hors, the pelvis sensor clips and pads, and the tablet and sensor charging station

 

How the Equinosis with Lameness locator system works ? 

ELL system is portable and designed for field work. Wireless sensors and tablets with on-board analysis allow use wherever horse lameness examination is performed.

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After activation of the tablet and sensors, the sensors are attached to the horse or eventually the rider. Horses are then presented on straight lines or on a circle.

 

Instrumentation is fast (takes about 2 min.), easy and completely non-invasive and consists of placing inertial sensors of three wireless sensors on the head, croup of the horse and right front limb. A fourth wireless sensor can be attached to the rider to evaluate the effect of the rider on the horse and its movement.

 

Wireless sensors with inertial sensors, which are 10 times faster than the human eye, very quickly detect even slight differences in symmetry between the right and left sides of the body, calculate accurate measurements of motion variations, head movement and torso movement accurately at less than 1mm up to 100 m

 

Microelectronic sensors accurately measure horse movement with wireless real-time data acquisition. All data is analyzed immediately after collection. The analysis time varies from a few seconds depending on the number of steps selected. Then the farrier examination can be supplemented by palpation, bending test and examination using a digital extension device and X-ray images. Vetrinar supplement the examination by local anesthesia.

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The data is stored in the system database, can be retrieved at any time, added new data after treatment, and make a comparison.

 

Why use Equinosis a Lameness locator in education of Farrier specialists? 

• Study plan The Farrier specialist deals with diseases of the hoof and distal parts of the horse's limbs often accompanied by lameness

• The use of modern technology saves time in the objective diagnosis of primary limping, without overlooking even the delicate lameness, you can accurately and objectively evaluate the effect of farrier treatment

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The study materials and especially the case reports are supported by a specific measurement and localization of the problem by Lameness locator and subsequently by a diagnostic X-ray image before and after farrier treatment.