[ OCTOBER 2019 | HORSEILLUSTRATED.COM 39 ]That’s when veterinarians may
suggest diagnostic tools such
as MRI, ultrasound, radiographs
(X-ray), scintigraphy, or CT scan,
to get even more information. Of
course, all of this diagnostic curi-
osity, while perhaps ideal from a
diagnostic standpoint, can get really
expensive.
For example, MRI, which can give
a very detailed picture about what’s
going on inside the area examined,
can easily run $2,000 or more.
DIAGNOSTIC COSTS
VS. BENEFITS
When evaluating lameness, horse
owners can rapidly run into a con-
fl ict between wanting to fi nd out
exactly what a horse’s problem is
and wanting to be able to buy gro-
ceries next week. It may be great
to know exactly what’s causing a
horse to limp, but at what cost?
Furthermore—and this is an
important question to ask—even if
you decide to pay for the test, is the
knowledge gained likely to change
the treatment?
RESETTING THE BAR
In my opinion, while knowing
exactly what anatomical area is
causing a horse’s lameness is a great
goal, in some circumstances, it might
be good for horse owners to think
about resetting the diagnostic bar.
There is such a thing as “overdi-
agnosis,” that is, information that
doesn’t really help in selecting a
treatment or improving an out-
come. Perhaps a more realistic and
less expensive standard—espe-
cially when it comes to diffi cult
“mystery” lameness cases—might
be to try to fi nd out if the horse’s
problem is likely to be serious, and
then go from there. HI
DAVID RAMEY, DVM, is the owner of
Ramey Equine ambulatory clinical
practice in Southern California. He
specializes in the care and treatment of
sport and pleasure horses. Ramey is the
author of 13 books and 70 journal papers.
You can read his musings on horse health
on his blog at http://www.doctorramey.com.
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