Poor Performance
Please click a problem below for more information
Staff | Facilities | Clinical Problems
Staff
Dr Sue Dyson MA VetMB DEO PhD FRCVS
Dr Rachel Murray MA VetMB MS PhD MRCVS Dip ACVS Dip ECVS
Mrs Shelley Down BVSc MRCVS
Dr Colin Roberts BVSc PhD FRCVS
About Poor Performance
Does your horse
- Not want to bend left?
- Lose rhythm in lateral work?
- Resist to the right?
- Change late behind
- Refuse to go forward?
- Have an unsteady head?
- Lose freedom in his shoulder?
- Find difficulty with piaffe?
- Get 7s when he used to get 9s?
- Come above the bit?
- Lose impulsion?
- Go unlevel?
- Refuse?
- Breathe harder than expected at exercise?
- Recover slowly after exercise?
- Cough during exercise or recovery?
- Appear lethargic?
Is it
- Pain related?
- A training problem?
- A physical limitation?
- Rider related?
- Fitness related?
‘Poor performance’ in horses is a term used to describe any perceived under performance by an equine athlete. Poor performance may be seen in a horse performing at any level of activity, and may be acute or gradual in onset (loss of performance) or an underlying inability for a horse to perform at the level required.
The most common cause of poor performance is an orthopaedic problem related to pain or a physical limitation. In most cases a poor performance evaluation begins with a thorough orthopaedic examination, including evaluating the horse doing the activity where the poor performance has been detected. This is important for 2 reasons; the first is that a subtle lameness or pain may be the underlying cause of poor performance and thus should be identified early in the evaluation process and secondly, it may be dangerous to pursue some parts of the poor performance work-up with a horse with lameness problems.
If lameness is not identified, or if lameness is present but not thought to be the cause of poor performance, further evaluation is necessary to evaluate the cardiovascular and respiratory systems and to investigate how well these systems function during exercise (either ridden exercise or on the treadmill). Details of the procedures carried out as part of this work-up are in the ‘how we help your horse section’.
The AHT has access to highly qualified orthopaedic clinicians, internal medicine clinicians, physiotherapists, farriers, saddlers and equine dental technicians available to provide a holistic service for the horse. The team is equipped with the latest digital X-ray, ultrasonography, scintigraphy, MRI and shockwave therapy equipment. AHT Equine is the only veterinary institute in Europe with a high-field MRI scanner for horses. It is used with our state-of-the-art ‘standing’ MRI equipment. The team is uniquely placed to evaluate performance problems, and to distinguish between physical and training causes, as the clinicians and many of the yard staff have competed to a high level. Dr Rachel Murray competes as a dressage rider at Intermediaire level and specializes in research into lameness, sport horse performance problems and the use of MRI in the diagnosis of bone and soft-tissue injuries. Dr Sue Dyson has competed in eventing and showjumping at a high level, and produced three horses to advanced level that subsequently competed at European and World Championships, and Olympic Games. She is a co-author of the standard veterinary texts on radiography, scintigraphy and lameness diagnosis and management in the horse, and is recognised as a world-class leader in her field.
