MORE than 40,000 horses have now been scanned using Hallmarq MRI Equine Scanners.
The number of horses scanned continues to grow rapidly as the benefits of standing MRI are becoming more widely recognised and MRI becomes available in more and more clinics worldwide.
As well as being a milestone for Hallmarq, one French showjumper’s MRI scan has allowed the rider to give her horse the best chance of a successful recovery.
Follow-up studies are common in the Hallmarq Standing Equine MRI as horses are easily scanned without disrupting their training schedules. Despite this, Selle Francais gelding Arthur’s re-examination this October caused quite a stir in the Standing Equine MRI community as it was the 40,000th scan.
An eight-year-old showjumper, Arthur came to Clinique Equine de Livet earlier this year with pain in his front legs, the right one in particular. The vet carried out a clinical examination and observed that Arthur was more lame on a right circle on a hard surface. Nerve blocks subsequently localised the pain to both front feet. The usual
radiographs and
ultrasound examination
did not show a
significant abnormality
so the vet referred
Arthur for an MRI.
The Standing MRI showed
that the horse had a few
different lesions in his
front feet. The right front showed damage to the deep digital flexor tendon (DDFT) and injuries affecting the distal interphalangeal or coffin joint. The left front also had damage to the DDFT as well as an erosive cystic lesion in the navicular bone.
After the four months of rest the horse showed good signs of improvement. The rider was pleased with R.’s recovery but the vet noticed he was still slightly lame on a right circle on a hard surface. The rider was keen to put Arthur back into full work and return to competition but didn’t want to risk his health if he wasn’t fully recovered. Tendon and ligament injuries can be very disappointing as the horse may appear sound but then become re-injured on a return to work. To give a clear picture of his recovery status Arthur returned to Clinique Equine de Livet for a follow-up scan.
The 40,000th standing Equine MRI study showed that the months of careful rehabilitation had done their work and Arthur’s injuries had healed well. The vet advised the owner to continue the controlled exercise programme for two months, gradually introducing gallop work. This would make sure that the healed structures could stand up to a full workload. The farrier also gave Arthur egg-bar shoes on both front feet to support his recovery.
“This case particularly shows the importance of rescan examinations for the management of these lesions, which are not easy to treat” said Clinique Equine de Livet vet and Hallmarq customer Matthieu Cousty. In this case, MRI allowed the vets and owner to agree on a rehabilitation plan that would give Arthur the best chance of returning to full health.
“Tendonitis of the distal DDFT carries a guarded prognosis but MRI allows better management of cases” continues Cousty. As a direct result of the re-scan the team was able to adapt the exercise programme for the quickest return to fitness without compromising Arthur’s long-term health.
Dr Matthieu Cousty would like to thank Dr Meredith Smith (Newmarket Equine Hospital) for her help interpreting the examinations and Dr Géraud Tourtoulou for the management of this case.
For more information or to find the nearest practice with a scanner visit www.hallmarq.net.
Equestrian News December 2013
Hallmarq Celebrate 40,000 MRI Scan
Photo of Arthur competing
Photo taken by "Studio Taine"
14 December 2013, Issue 3 www.everythinghorseuk.co.uk www.everythinghorseuk.co.uk December 2013, Issue 3 15