Giving a history for your horse

Treating without diagnosing can work. But it can also mean months of time, money and effort spent managing a problem rather than solving it, while the underlying cause quietly becomes harder to treat.

Proximal suspensory injuries are a common cause of lameness and poor performance in horses. Clinical signs can vary depending on whether the forelimbs or hindlimbs are affected, and a thorough lameness examination is essential to localise the source of pain.

There's a particular feeling that arrives in the spring: the mornings get lighter, the yard smells of wet earth and new grass and suddenly you want to do more with your horse. After months of short days, heavy going and limited riding, spring feels like permission to start again.