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EXERCISE &

POOR PERFORMANCE INVESTIGATION

Whilst routine resting endoscopy can provide an insight into possible throat problems in the horse, exercising endoscopy (where the camera is recording your horse’s throat throughout an entire exercise test) allows us to see exactly what is occurring. This not only removes a lot of the ‘educated guesswork’ involved when diagnosing what is occurring and to perform targeted treatment of your horse's problems'.

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Wind problems are not only performance limiting to the thoroughbred racehorse. At Sycamore Lodge we investigate and treat all breeds of horses with varied uses including, hunters, showjumpers, event and pleasure horses alike.

Some horses may present with respiratory noise (whistles, roars or gurgles) however a significant proportion of horses will be assessed for poor performance without reported noise.

All horses that have exercise endoscopy performed by Sycamore Lodge also have a clinical exam at rest and an exercising ECG (monitoring the heart) performed in addition to having GPS monitoring throughout the exercise test.

 

The GPS allows us to see the maximum speed and distance travelled but most importantly tells us if there was any drop in speed observed coinciding with airway obstruction seen on the exercise scope.

 

Ancillary tests, such as a lung wash, to check for lower airway problems, may be recommended and performed as part of the poor performance investigation.

 

We offer a full range of treatments options for your horse including wind surgeries such as the laryngeal tie-forward, tie-back, palatal thermocautery, hobday (standard or laser) and other standing laser surgeries, depending upon what is required for your horse.

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  • Exercise videoendoscopy to diagnose respiratory issues

  • Exercise ecg for heart issues

  • Orthopaedic investigation 

  • Scintigraphy

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