Case Study: Tendon injury on a Polo Pony

In July, we had the opportunity to utilise the PRO Thermal Imaging camera and ThermaVET application to monitor a tendon injury when a young horse overexerted itself during a practice match. Before the vet could scan the leg to check the severity and location of the damage, we needed to wait for the swelling to reduce, which would take a matter of days. The following images demonstrate the initial swelling and the reduction over the next three days to reveal the exact location of the tendon damage, which was further supported in the scan carried out by the vet.

DAY 1 (Morning):

This image was taken the morning after the polo match, when the first signs of significant swelling had been identified. The camera was able to detect significant inflammation around the upper-mid region of the tendon.

DAY 1 (Afternoon):

A second image was captured later the same day, at this stage the horse has been given strong anti-inflammatories and ice to help bring down the swelling.

Here the camera demonstrates the difference in temperature from icing through the yellow/orange colouring in the leg.

DAY 2:

On the second day we were able to see a slight change in the amount of swelling, there are initial indicators for where the leg has been most impacted in the red colouring towards the centre region on the tendon.

DAY 3:

On the third day there was a big change in the amount of swelling which can be identified in the blue/green colouring towards the entire length of the tendon. Due to this, today would have been the worst day for the vet to come and do a scan due to poor visibility.

DAY 4:

A significant reduction in swelling can be seen on the fourth day. There is still swelling present (in green) however, we are now able to get a clear picture for where the location of tendon damage is likely to be.

DAY 5:

On day 5 we agreed the swelling had reduced enough for us to carry out a scan on the leg, which further supported the image we had taken with our camera. The tendon injury had occurred in the upper mid-section of the outer wall of the tendon. Thankfully, this is an area which has good blood circulation meaning there were higher chances for the horse to make a full recovery.

We were able to gain some really valuable insight using the ThermaVET application and device to continuously monitor the progress of the injury and decide when the best time to carry out a scan would be. 

If you have any questions or want to get in touch, please send us an email at: katie.mckinney@thermafy.com