Would those of you who have had an MRI performed on your horse(s) please weigh in with if/how the MRI diagnostics helped (or didn’t help) in your horse’s treatment and recovery? Also, in hindsight, would you say the MRI was worth it or not?
Your response is greatly appreciated! :encouragement:
I would think it depends on where the injury is located. For me, it was within the hoof capsule and was the best diagnostic tool so, yes, it was absolutely worth it both in diagnosis and treatment plan. I thought it was costly but invaluable.
I had a standing MRI done on a horse to try to diagnos chronic lameness. The quality of the image was good enough and helped me decide on a treatment plan, neurectomy in that case.
I’ve had the big General anesthesia MRI done on 2 different horses. The image quality was far superior and provided enough information not only on the treatment for the immediate concern but also on the state of other body parts in the larger view, basically the entire rear end of the horse, so that I was comfortable aggressively treating the specific injury.
Well worth the money for me each time. But I have an obsessive need for data.
[QUOTE=AirsDisco;8329411]
Would those of you who have had an MRI performed on your horse(s) please weigh in with if/how the MRI diagnostics helped (or didn’t help) in your horse’s treatment and recovery? Also, in hindsight, would you say the MRI was worth it or not?
Your response is greatly appreciated! :encouragement:[/QUOTE]
That would depend on whether or not the information so obtained is likely to be actionable–that is, will it alter the treatment or prognosis enough to be worth it in relation to the value of the horse.
Example: My 4 year old mare had a mystery lameness in her somewhat-clubby right front that we isolated to the hoof capsule with nerve blocks. She X-rayed dead clean. Not an abscess, it had hung around for more than 3 weeks. Vet was gung-ho for me to do both MRI and bone scan; but what can be DONE with a DDFT tear (our suspicion) inside the hoof capsule? We were too late for stem-cell, etc. and basically the treatment no matter WHAT was found came down to “lay-up for a year.”
Since I own the lay-up barn I opted OUT of turning a lame horse I’d paid $500 for as a weanling into a $7,000 lame horse just to get the data. She came around sound for light use which is what would have happened anyway. . .
If, OTOH, the MRI information would make the difference between lame and sound, career-ending or useful, or life and death, I would not hesitate. Just have a long talk with the vet first about what they suspect is really in play–and in what way the MRI information will help the prognosis.
Of course, a lot depends on your finances and the value of the horse.
The above information is great.
I found the MRI was invaluable when diagnosing a soft tissue injury. X-rays of the front hooves of one of our horses suggested navicular syndrome and the vet decided to treat for that. After the treatment didn’t help I went with an MRI elsewhere and the interpreting vet concluded she did not have any navicular changes but rather medial collateral ligament tears. She is now on flat ground with restricted activity and sound. I am so glad we went with the MRI. We are also lucky that this particular vet views MRIs as learning tools for them, so the cost was less than it might have been.
I opted for the full anesthesia, lay 'em down, to look more closely at a hock/suspensory. I was glad we did, found a very small tear that was not discernible on ultrasound. Instead of injecting the hocks and working him, as was suggested by one vet, we are now hand walking and re-evaluating in 60 days. Could have ruined said horsie without the proper diagnosis. Expensive, but worth it!
My horse had what appeared to be a melanoma next to his optic nerve. Vet was concerned that it was going along the optic nerve to his brain. I had a full anesthesia MRI done on his head so that we could see exactly what was going on before starting Oncept. If the melanoma had progressed to his brain, I was going to have him put down on the table. (
)
MRI was well worth the money as it told us what we needed to know - thankfully no progression to the brain. Oncept has worked wonders as well.
As a side result, MRI proved that he had a brain, which had been in question sometimes LOL!
Thank you very much to everyone who responded. :applause:
atlatl : I chuckled at your comment about your obsessive need for data. I have that same trait! 
Regarding the neurectomy, how was the recovery and how is the current soundness condition of your horse? I’ve never worked with a horse that’s had such a procedure and I must admit, I’m wondering if that’s going to change with this horse given his persistent lameness.
Lady Eboshi : Your point regarding economics is a valid one and one I’ve taken under serious consideration. I would like to know, did the year’s layup for your then 4 year old result in a full recovery?
prudence : Yes, how lucky you were to get a reduced cost! Regarding the medial collateral ligament tears, that’s one thing the vet thinks maybe is going on with my horse, but the injury looks old. How has that injury healed? Is your horse now restricted to light work for the rest of its life, or has your horse regained its full performance potential?
Dune : I’m glad you chimed in. What a cautionary tale to go the extra mile. Your comment resonated with me because I know a lot of people who lament about their horse’s hock issues but until your comment, the only thing I’d ever heard people do regarding hock problems is inject and work, and inject again and work, etc., etc. I hope everything goes smoothly with your horse’s recovery.
oldernewbie : I chuckled quite a bit at your proof of brain comment. Haven’t we all had horses like that! Of course, that may be a good reason why I should get an MRI myself! I’m so glad the MRI gave you happy news.
If anyone is interested, I found this article that compares standing MRIs to “lay 'em down” MRIs. It’s a bit technical, but I found it informative. http://veterinarynews.dvm360.com/ups-and-downs-equine-mri-veterinary-medicine
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