Page 171 - Adams and Stashak's Lameness in Horses, 7th Edition

Examination for Lameness 137

surface characteristics, may either exacerbate or mask Table 2.4. United Kingdom Lameness Scale
existing lameness when the rider posts while riding in
VetBooks.ir riding to the left may have what appears to be a left Grade Description
small circles. Thus a rider posting on the right forelimb
hindlimb lack of pushoff lameness (or “hip dip”). If the
horse has preexisting left hindlimb pushoff lameness, this 0 Not lame
lameness will be exacerbated. If the horse has a preexist­
ing right hindlimb pushoff lameness, this lameness will be 1–2 Lameness hard to detect at walk or trot
reduced or masked. All these findings should be consid­
ered when evaluating horses for lameness under saddle. 3–4 Lameness barely detectable at walk, easy to see at the trot
As with lunging, if a horse displays lameness consistently
without a rider, it will usually display lameness in the 5–6 Lameness easily detectable at the walk
same limb with the rider, and it is uncommon for lame­ 7–8 Hobbling at the walk, unwilling to trot
ness to be displayed in only a different limb.
Hindlimb and concurrent hindlimb and forelimb 9–10 Non‐weight bearing
lameness has also been shown to be associated with sad­
dle slip, slightly more frequently toward the lame than
the non‐lame or less lame side. Saddle slip increased
when lame horses were ridden in circles and when the References
rider was posting. 21–23 1. Audigié F, Pourcelot P, Degueurce C, et al. Kinematic analysis of
the symmetry of limb movements in lame trotting horses. Equine
Vet J Suppl 2001;33:128–134.
SUBJECTIVE SCORING METHODS 2. Audigié F, Pourcelot P, Degueurce C, et al. Fourier analysis of
trunk displacements: a method to identify the lame limb inn trot­
The AAEP Lameness Scale ting horses. J Biomech 2002;35:1173–1182.
3. Azevedo MS, Córte FDDL, Brass KE, et al. Impact or push‐off
The American Association of Equine Practitioners lameness presentation is not altered by the type of track surface
(AAEP) lameness scale is a subjective scoring method where horses are trotted. Arq Bras Med Vet Zootec 2015;67:
1475–1482.
used to describe lameness (Table 2.3). Consistency, and 4. Back W, Barneveld A, van Weeren PR, et al. Kinematic gait analy­
to some extent, severity, of lameness is assessed by the sis in equine carpal lameness. Acta Anat 1993;146:86–89.
ability to observe lameness under different conditions. It 5. Back W, Schamhardt HC, Barneveld A. Kinematic comparison of
is an accurate but imprecise (there are only five grades) the leading and trailing fore‐ and hindlimbs at the canter. EVJ
Suppl 1997;23:80–83.
method to assess severity of lameness. Lameness ampli­ 6. Bell RP, Reed SK, Schoonover MJ, et al. Associations of force plate
tude can significantly change but remain within a single and body‐mounted inertial sensor measurements for identifica­
grade. Practitioners use the AAEP scale primarily as a tion of hind limb lameness in horses. Am J Vet Res 2016;
communication tool that estimates overall lameness 77:337–345.
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In the United Kingdom a scale from 1 to 10, which is Vet J 1998;30:362–363.
basically the same at the above AAEP scale, but splitting 8. Brocklehurst C, Weller R, Pfau T. Effect of turn direction on
each grade into two separate categories, is used (Table 2.4). body lean angle in the horse in trot and canter. Vet J 2014;
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9. Buchner HHF. Equine Locomotion, Back W., Clayton H. Gait
Adaptations in Lameness. W.B Saunders, 2013. Pg 175.
Table 2.3. American Association of Equine Practitioners 10. Buchner HHF, Savelberg HHCM, Schamhardt HC, et al. Temporal
Lameness Scale. stride patterns in horses with experimentally induced fore and
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movement adaptations in horses with experimentally induced
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0 Lameness not perceptible under any circumstances.
13. Buchner HHF, Obermüller S, Scheidl M. Body centre of mass
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1 Lameness is difficult to observe and is not consistently 14. Chateau H, Camus M, Holen‐Douilly L, et al. Kinetics of the fore­
apparent, regardless of circumstances (e.g. under saddle, limb in horses circling on different ground surfaces at the trot. Vet
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15. Church EE, Walker AM, Wilson AM, et al. Evaluation of discrimi­
2 Lameness is difficult to observe at a walk or when trotting nant analysis based on dorsoventral symmetry indices to quantify
in a straight line but consistently apparent under certain hindlimb lameness during overground locomotion. Equine Vet J
2009;41:304–308.
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3 Lameness is consistently observable at a trot under all 17. Crevier‐Denoix N, Munoz‐Nates F, Camus M, et al. Comparison
circumstances. of peak vertical force and vertical impulse in the inside and out­
side hind limbs in horses circling on a soft surface, at trot and
4 Lameness is obvious at a walk. canter. Comput Methods Biomech Biomed Eng 2017;20(supp
1):51–51. doi: 10.1080/10255842.2017.1382856.
5 Lameness produces minimal weight bearing in motion and/ 18. Dyson S, Ellis A, Mullard J, et al. Response to Gleerup: under­
or at rest or a complete inability to move. standing signals that indicate pain in ridden horses. J Vet Behav
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