Our sports medicine service specialises in the diagnosis, treatment, management and prevention of illness and injury that limits performance.
Performance problems are often subtle and can be multifactorial. Examples of poor performance cases are those that start to resent or resist work or movements inexplicably; those that are losing marks and dropping places; those that start putting in an unexpected stop or rolling a pole or those that are struggling with their energy levels or keeping within time limits.
Our specialists use the latest technologies and techniques to diagnose and treat horses whose performance is not meeting expectations but for no obvious apparent reason. We aim to detect problems at an early stage when they can be easier to treat and to keep athletic horses healthy and allow them to compete to the best of their ability for longer.
Our comprehensive performance assessment begins with an online questionnaire, which records relevant aspects of the horse’s training and management. This is completed prior to booking an appointment (on inital contact with the hospital a link to the online questionnaire will be sent out). Once received, a telephone consultation with one of the sports medicine team will discuss the investigation plan for the individual horse.
Keeping horses performing optimally requires a multidisciplinary approach that may include the following investigations:
- Objective gait analysis
- Physical examination
- Blood tests
- Exercise testing with telemetric ECG, blood lactate and dynamic airway endoscopy
- Evaluation of the lower airways
- Gastroscopy
- Lameness investigation
- Echocardiography
For more information or to make an appointment, please contact the clinic on 01622 813700 and speak to Evita Busschers.
