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Unfortunately, as you may have experienced… if you own a horse, at some point they are likely to be lame and need a veterinary lameness exam. But what do veterinarians do in a lameness exam … and WHAT IN THE WORLD are they looking at?The Lameness ExamA lameness exam is a systematic process which simply put, establishes if the horse is experiencing pain, and where the pain is coming from. This process is often referred to as “localization” of the lameness, as it tries to find the exact “loc …

Part two of the deep dive into the reality of kissing spines.We learned last time that kissing spines is a potentially painful disease in which the spines of the vertebrae rub against each other. Let’s take a look at what causes the development of kissing spines.What causes the development of kissing spines? It occurs most often in Thoroughbreds, Warmbloods, and stock horses, which include Quarter Horses and Paints. Recently, it has been found that genetics play a role, and at least two …

For almost 50 years Dr. Hilary M. Clayton has performed innovative research in the areas of equine biomechanics, lameness, rehabilitation, athletic conditioning, and the interaction between rider, tack and horse. She has published 7 books and numerous papers in scientific journals and articles in equestrian publications on these topics. Since retiring from academia in 2014, she has continued to perform collaborative research with colleagues from around the world and to provide educational …