Tips and Tricks For Ultrasounding Equine

It is important when ultrasounding mares to carefully examine the entire uterus (especially when looking for a short pregnancy). Check out this clip.

It is almost that time of year again…equine breeding season. Are you ready? Do we need to fine tune any of your settings?

There are three indications for tendon ultrasound in the horse: screening for historic injuries, monitoring progress of an injury, and evaluating tendons and ligaments because of a lameness localized to that limb. For the most part, this means that either during the examination process, or at a previous examination, you will have used a lameness exam and other modalities to localize the site of your examination.

Ultrasound is an excellent, if under-utilized modality for imaging the equine or bovine eye. While you may not see a daily caseload of trauma to the periorbit, adnexa, or globe, when you do, a convex or micro convex probe can be used to provide key information relating to the structures involved, the severity of the injury, and prognosis. Cases that may benefit from this include chronic swelling of the eyelid or adnexal structures, foreign bodies, retrobulbar abscesses, lens luxation, retinal detachment, and uveitis.

The convex probe ultrasounds were designed for use on cattle, but they can be used for other applications

Considerations: There are many ways to diagnose pregnancy in a mare, however ultrasound stands out as the most useful and versatile. While manual palpation can diagnose pregnancy and potentially twins, it can’t show a fetal heartrate or consistently diagnose placentitis. Only ultrasound can show fetal health, birth defects, placentitis, and allow for accurate fetal aging. It also allows for the monitoring of cervical tone, uterine edema, and follicular development while preparing to breed a mare.