United States Eventing Association

When Debra Ladley first noticed her 18-year-old retired hunter gelding, Jack, was experiencing sudden lameness, she thought what most horse owners do; that there was a hoof abscess brewing.

The horses in trainer Joe Davis’ barn at Horseshoe Indianapolis don’t just get standard hay in their nets each day. Throughout the afternoon, Davis or one of his employees opens the HayGain machine that sits at the end of his shed row and pulls out a warm, beautiful-smelling bale of freshly-steamed hay to fill their nets.

The past few years have seen veterinary imaging for horses grow by leaps and bounds. Computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were once rare and expensive luxuries for veterinarians trying to diagnose a horse, only accessible in a few places in the country. These days, more referral clinics are getting ahold of machines to bring advanced imaging closer to more people and horses. Some of these newer machines are faster and don’t require horses to undergo full anesthesia to get images.