MRI Guidance Notes:

Preparing your horse for MRI:

• Your horse’s shoes need to be removed before the procedure can be carried out; both front shoes need to be removed for forelimb scans, and hind shoes for hind limb scanning. If your horse is coming specifically for MRI then shoes should be removed prior to arrival at the clinic. However, if your horse is being examined at Bell Equine prior to MRI, shoes should be left on so we can assess the lameness.

• Please ensure your horse is generally clean and dry when coming in for MRI - dust and dirt can affect the quality of the scans, the sensitive equipment and air-conditioning system.

• Please ensure that the legs, especially the feet, are clean and dry. Purple/blue spray on the feet can seriously affect the image quality so please stop using this product at least 5 days prior to the scan, and make sure that any spray left on your horse’s feet or legs is thoroughly cleaned off.

• Unfortunately horses with very large feet do not fit in the MRI scanner – the feet need to be less than 19 cm wide to fit. Please contact us prior to your appointment if you are unsure about whether your horse we will fit and we can give more detailed measurements.

• If your horse is insured, please bring details of your insurance policy (company name, policy number) and completed claim form / continuation claim form to the appointment. Where possible you should inform your insurance company that your horse requires an MRI examination and, where appropriate, check that the insurers are prepared to cover the costs if you wish to make a claim.

• Please bring your horse’s passport.

• Please bring a clean cooler rug or light stable rug for your horse to wear when coming round from the sedation. We can provide one if required.

• We will provide an estimate for the cost of the MRI examination, but in some cases we may determine that further scanning of more areas of the limb(s) is required – this may incur extra cost, but we will discuss this with you (and usually your veterinary surgeon) before proceeding.

• Your horse will need to be sedated for the duration of the MRI scan. If you know of any reason why this cannot be done safely or of any previous problems that the horse has encountered when being sedated, please inform us prior to arrival.

• The preparation and initial MRI scan will normally take between 3-4 hours but can take longer depending on how still your horse stands and if extra images are required. If further images are required your horse may have to remain at the clinic for the whole day.

• Routine X-rays or a standing cone-beam CT will be taken of horses having MRI of the feet as part of the MRI package; these enable us to check for any broken clenches or rust which would affect image quality and need to be removed prior to scanning. We also use these for research and development purposes and there will be no charge for them.

• In some cases, the MRI will identify a problem where we believe further imaging (such as radiography, ultrasonography or CT) will be helpful in providing more diagnostic information. In such cases we may request permission to perform these added investigations, either prior to your horse being discharged or at a later date.

• Please note, cancellations after 12PM the day before your appointment may incur cancellation fees.

• After the MRI, horses will generally be placed in a stable and allowed access to water while they recover from the sedation. After monitoring, they will generally be given a ‘recovery mash’ (Saracens) and soaked hay prior to an assessment for fitness to travel. The recovery period is generally approximately an hour.

• We will inform you when your horse’s MRI has been completed and the images have been checked for diagnostic quality. We will also advise when we expect your horse will be ready to travel at this stage.

• A MRI study contains a huge amount of information (around 400-800 images!) which takes time to interpret so you will normally not receive information on findings at the time of discharge. In most cases a full report will be produced within approximately 48 hours, with a copy being sent to both you and your vet.

• In a small number of horses, sedation may predispose them to mild colic. If your horse is prone to colic, it might be prudent to feed a laxative diet or add extra table salt to the feed (eg one tablespoon per feed) for 24 hours before and after the MRI. In a few cases we may recommend giving the horse an electrolyte solution by stomach tube before travelling home. If feasible, walking exercise can also be helpful to promote gut motility.