A Case Series of 11 Horses Diagnosed with Bone Spavin Treated with High Intensity Laser Therapy (HILT).

The research focused on understanding the impact of High Intensity Laser Therapy (HILT) in the treatment of chronic osteoarthritis in horses. In a 2-year study involving 11 horses with bone spavin, HILT therapies were applied, which resulted in various levels of improvement in lameness for some of the horses, thus suggesting that HILT could potentially alleviate joint pain and visually reduce lameness.

Research Objective and Methodology

• The primary objective of this study was exploring the potential of HILT in treating chronic osteoarthritis in horses.
• 11 horses with diagnosed bone spavin were selected, each of which had shown hindlimb lameness and a positive result in a spavin flexion test.
• All these horses had radiological signs of tarsus osteoarthritis and were untreated for bone spavin for at least 6 months.
• Over two weeks, each horse received ten sessions of HILT treatment following a common laser protocol.

Results and Findings

• The post-treatment examination revealed that 4 out of the 11 horses (36%) experienced an improvement of 2 lameness grades as per the American Association of Equine Practitioners lameness scale. Similarly, 4 horses (36%) experienced a 1 grade improvement, whereas 3 horses (28%) showed no improvement.
• Three horses were found to be completely sound after the HILT treatment.
• A post-treatment spavin test revealed improvement in 5 horses (45%), while 6 horses (55%) showed the same spavin test grade as before the treatment. Notably, none of the horses were sound in the post-HILT spavin test.

Conclusions

• Based on the results, the study suggests that HILT could potentially be beneficial in reducing joint pain and visible lameness in horses suffering from bone spavin. However, the research also indicates that the treatment doesn’t necessarily lead to a complete cure, with no horse being completely sound in the spavin test performed after the HILT treatment.
• The study points to the probable therapeutic benefit of HILT in managing lameness due to osteoarthritis but calls for further detailed research considering the variations in the treatment outcomes.