I have a dressage horse with a NQR issue with on/off subtle lameness in the right hind going on for several years. We have done a lot of investigating and he has one spot of very mild kissing spines and we have had some degree of success with treating SI issues, so may or may not be associated with back/pelvic issues. I have done many diagnostics and treatments with multiple different vets local to me and still not gotten to the bottom of it. I’m planning to haul to a major clinic to try and get some definitive answers - the options within 6ish hours for me to haul to are Rood & Riddle (Lexington), Hagyard or New Bolton. The lameness is only apparent under certain circumstances and largely performance based, so I need a sport horse vet with a keen eye and willingness to discuss and explore options. I have not been to any of these clinics before, so I’m looking for anyone’s experience if there’s a certain one recommended over others or a specific vet that fits the bill for this that I should request. Thanks in advance!
no specific thoughts. But you might want to cross post in the dressage thread if you dont get suggestions here.
Thanks I will do that!
Just my two cents, but I had a NQR horse that I took to New Bolton on three different occasions. Numerous vets, tests, x-rays, and $$. All three times they said she was sound and they could find nothing wrong with her. Finally on the recommendation of someone with a similar experience, I took her to Dr. Kevin Keane at Sports Medicine Associates of Chester County (a few miles from New Bolton). He immediately diagnosed her visually (like within seconds) and confirmed with x-rays. I did not follow up with treatment with him as we moved out of the area within the month. So I cannot comment on his treatment, but his diagnosis was spot on. He may be in Aiken or Wellington for another month right now.
@Emerson I’m local to NBC so can only speak to that hospital. We have used it several times over the years, bone scan most recently back in 2022, our barn also uses their field services to supplement our sports medicine vet. I haven’t used them to diagnose things as we use aforementioned sports med vet (he’s awesome and also FEI vet) but NBC is great for us locally for emergencies etc and not everyone can do a bone scan.
My horse had been NQR behind (turned out to be epm) we are back on track now though.
Good luck!
If you have a good regular vet I would have that vet set it up. My vet has connections at both of the major clinics that are in my area, he called and spoke with both and got estimates and also made a recommendation based on his discussion with both on how they would approach it.
During the xrays and bone scan the clinic vet called my vet to discuss findings, and also discuss the treatment plan.
Dr. Keane is fantastic. He is back from Wellington 
If anyone has more recent experience with New Bolton Center, please correct me if I’m wrong, but last I heard they are still requiring the owner to drop the horse off and pick up at the end of the appointment. I like to see everything, so in a non-emergency situation, I wouldn’t go for this. But there are definitely some perks to being in a setting that has every kind of vet and diagnostic tool available.
I was there twice last year (Feb and Aug) and was allowed to watch the exam both times. 
Definitely good to hear that! I was starting to wonder if they would never change the policy back.
Right? Last time I was at Leesburg (in the fall) you could watch the lameness or neuro exam outside but still couldn’t go to the back for diagnostics or procedures. I suspect that this is no longer about biosecurity and they have realized how nice it is to not have owners hovering!
I agree! The closest big hospital to me is OSU but unfortunately now off the list of consideration because they have the same policy where owners are no longer allowed to be present for anything, not even the lameness exam. You hand someone your horse in the parking lot and then pick them up once all is said and done. For these NQR cases with so many details and subtleties that need to be communicated, that really doesn’t work! 
not NBC
It’s all about the vet. I cannot call up the name of a DVM that Jennifer Truett told me was her go-to and I’ll look when I get home and post back. I went to R&R a few years ago and had a horrible experience w Dr. Ruggles. He was in a bad mood, told me point black he didn’t believe in back pain and I walked out with the $2500 bill and he never even came back to talk with me. Dr. Reed, surely the most kind person on the planet sought me out and we sat down and he went through what he saw on the films etc.
We know diagnosing and imaging problems is science and art. Also, know that Dr. Maureen Kelleher is now at OSU and from what I see, is impressive. Grad of UC DAvis and specializes in sports medicine. I attended a presentation of hers last weekend and was VERY impressed. She started
her talk that getting the dx is most important and that means being good at imaging. Right?
I’ll post some of her webinars I found online.
