It is thus crucial to detect injuries at an early stage before any physical or behavioral abnormality manifests, because, once they do, the damage is so advanced that the animal can no longer conceal it. 

Lameness in one part of a limb often

results in secondary soreness in another area of the same limb and may result in lameness of the contralateral forelimb or hindlimb from overuse due to compensation. The entire horse should be evaluated for secondary lameness even when the cause of the primary problem is obvious. Now, if the primary cause is so cleverly concealed, how great the challenge to detect secondary injuries and discomforts.

Your answer lies in a detailed Thermographic Anlysis which will pinpoint these causes and effects without disruptions and/or trauma.

Thermography is the pictorial representation of the surface temperature of an object. It is a noninvasive technique that measures emitted heat and is useful for detecting inflammatory changes. Relative blood flow dictates the thermal pattern; normal thermal patterns can be predicted based on vascularity and surface contour. Skin overlying muscle is also subject to temperature increase during muscle activity. Circulation is invariably altered in injured or diseased tissues.

Thermographically, the “hot spot” associated with the localized inflammation generally is seen in the skin directly overlying the injury. However, diseased tissues may have a reduced blood supply due to swelling, vessel thrombosis, or tissue infarction. With such lesions, the area of decreased heat is usually surrounded by increased thermal emissions, probably due to shunting of blood.

Diseases of the musculoskeletal system most often involve motion deficits, functional disorders, and lameness. The degree of impairment depends on the specific problem and its severity. Skeletal and articular disorders are by far the most common and have the greatest economic impact. In horses and dogs, musculoskeletal injuries are a major source of debilitating pain, economic loss, and loss of athleticism. Degenerative joint disease is much more common and has a greater economic importance than acute traumatic injuries or respiratory diseases in performance horses. Several studies estimate that problems involving the fetlock and carpal joints account for 25%–28% of horses lost from training. In addition, tendon injury is a common debilitating injury in performance horses. The healing response is prolonged, and the resultant repair tissue is usually of inferior mechanical strength. Consequently, the prognosis for return to previous levels of performance is poor.

2014 by Stephen B. Adams, DVM, MS, DACVS

Tendons act as bridging and attachment structures for the muscles; some bridge long gaps between the muscle bellies and target bone and, therefore, are prone to injury themselves, especially because they are often loaded to the extreme and are only minimally capable of elastic elongation. A prime example is the superficial flexor tendon of horses, which is frequently injured by partial tearing that leads to tendinitis.