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Equine Guelph’s Lameness Lab online tool, sponsored by Pfizer Equine Division, will help you learn about lameness through a variety of interactive activities.

Learn what has intrigued over 5,000 Lameness Lab visitors since its initial launch just over a year ago.

Spin the lameness wheel and test your knowledge with ten questions about anatomy, lameness, risk factors and more. Put on your lab coat for the video challenge and see if you can pin point lameness in the front end and hind end. Another activity takes you through the layers of a horse with amazing drawings of muscles, joints, tendons, bone and the hoof to learn their functions. This helpful horse owner tool not only hones your skills for detecting lameness, it also arms you with preventative knowledge.

“We think that a visual approach to lameness will greatly help horse caregivers better understand the basics of lameness and how to recognize the signs or symptoms in their horse,” says Dr. Cathy Rae, equine Technical Services veterinarian for Pfizer Animal Health. “This understanding should help them detect lameness earlier as well as guide them in knowing when to call their veterinarian.”

Video commentary by Dr. Nicola Cribb, assistant professor and equine surgeon at the University of Guelph, and Dr. Ken Armstrong, equine veterinarian and partner of Halton Equine Veterinary Services, explain how vets identify and assess lameness.

“I am pleased to help out with the ‘working with the vet’ section of the online tool,” says Armstrong. “In the videos, I explain to horse owners a typical process that vets go through from lameness assessment to diagnosis. Because it’s a team effort between the vet and the owner, it’s important for owners to understand what the vet is doing and why.”

Learn something new about lameness. Go to Equine Guelph’s ‘Toolbox’ at EquineGuelph.ca and click on Lameness Lab. Pfizer Equine Division also sponsors, ‘Journey through the Joints’ another tool to help horse owners understand inflammation and how it affects the health of their horses joints.

Please note: This information provides guidelines only and should never replace information from your veterinarian.