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  A Lady with Fight
Posts: 2701
  
Location: NC | Those that have used it, did it work to accurately find out what was wrong? How much was the exam/blocking with the locator? And where did you have it done?
I've heard a lot of people talk about it. But never on detail. I saw a segment on RFD where they showed how the sensors worked but never went into HOW they pinpoint the exact lameness.
Wondering if it is worth the trip/effort as opposed to a 'regular' lameness exam. |
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 Expert
Posts: 1440
 
Location: Texas | I think it was worth it. My horse had a strained suspensory which did not flex sore and he did not move lame, but the locator found it and it was confirmed by ultrasound. I was very skeptical at first but that sold me. I don't remember exactly the cost, I think it was around 100 or sonand then get charged extra for any blocks he did. |
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Queen Bean of Ponyland
Posts: 24954
Location: WYOMING | Wasnt worth it for me. My mare was visibly lame up front. $250 later the LL told us my mare was lame upfront, no more detailed than that. I wouldnt use it again. |
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 I"m Jealous!
Posts: 1737
Location: Benton City, WA | JMO: There are some drawbacks with the lameness locator, and I do not think that a truly excellent lameness vet needs one. Drawbacks are that because of the way its set up, they have to have a sensor strapped on the head....uh yeah with some horses GOOD LUCK! Also since it is essentially a computer system, there is always the potential for error.
Personally, I prefer to use a vet that can visually see and block a very subtle lameness...that is why I will always always use my vet, as long as he is in business.
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 Nothing Comes Easy
Posts: 2353
Location: Texas | I think the lameness locator is needed in those complex lameness problems. My mare spent 3 days at the vet 3 weeks back. To the eye, she looked slightly off, like you really had to know the mare to know what was going on. She reacted to her right stifle. Vet decided to try out the lameness locator. I was told if the lameness locator didn't help, I wouldn't have to pay for it. I think it was $20 more? So worth the extra money as initially it was really hard to see the changes in her movement when we blocked her. And also, we found 2-3 problems, two in which we treated, both being things that she didn't react to when flexing. We found a teeny tiny bone chip in her hind right.
The lameness locator allowed us to see the improvement in my horse as we blocked up when our eyes couldn't see it. This was the third vet that I had taken my mare to over the years. I'm glad to have found answers considering she's passed two lameness exams over the years when I knew something was wrong..
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 Am I really the Weirdo?
Posts: 11181
Location: Kansas | I had it put on Chance yesterday and the jury is still out. It wasn't any more expensive than most other lameness exams I've done, and we did see serious improvement with each block, but we also kept finding more things that were sore as we blocked others. Ended up with 3 of 4 feet blocked and him showing moderate lameness on the one unblocked foot. UGH.
It was interesting to see the percentage of improvement when we blocked his right hind foot (which the locator said was the primary lameness originally), and I guess we'll know more in 9-13 days when the coffin joint injections we did take effect. We're going back to Pryor Oklahoma to put it on him again May 29th and compare those results to yesterdays. I think the lameness exam was $50 and the locator $75 then an additional charge for blocks, x-rays and injections. Overall I thought my bill was very reasonable for an appointment that lasted more than 3 1/2 hours even if we didn't get the AHA! moment I was hoping for. It seems that he has more than one lameness problem but at least this way we isolated it to those 3 feet and ruled out hocks & stifles. The blocks I had done at his last lameness exam 2 months ago didn't show us nearly as much as yesterday's did and we blocked the same thing on the right front foot. |
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 Lady Di
Posts: 21556
Location: Oklahoma | I was very pleased with it the one time I used it. I had a horse that I knew was 'off' because he would clock better when given painkillers, so I KNEW something was wrong. I had "fixed" all the obvious stuff, but he still wasn't clocking. The lameness locator found a torn high hind suspensory that had been totally overlooked. Cost me around $250 and was off my horse 6 months, but we finally found what was really wrong with him. He's still not back like he should be, but I think I'm dealing with the mental part of running with something hurting for awhile. I think he thinks it still hurts, so we have got to get him over that now. I was very satisfied personally. |
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 Pork Fat is my Favorite
Posts: 3791
Location: The Oklahoma plains. | As far as foot issues that maybe someone mentioned- it isnt going to tell you heel vs toe as those blocks can overlap- and no vet could tell any better than the LL did-- that would require an MRI IMO. Also- it sees 20 frames per second and no vet can see that. It is a great diagnostic tool that can save injections that are not needed. And vets can lose track of improvement from one block to the other- this shows the numbers and numbers dont lie. |
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Location: Wherever Riley is | I have used it time and time again. If I have an issue, I always use it and if I want to check to see if something is improving, again I use it.
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Red Hot Cardinal Fan
Posts: 4122
| Just my two cents, but the Lameness Locator is only as good as the vet using it and how knowledgable they are at using it. It's a tool, if the vet doesn't know how to use it to it's full potential, then you're not going to get maximum results.
After using it on one horse, with a vet that actually worked on developing this at the University of Missouri, I was happy with the results. The vet should be able to narrow down where the lameness is at (more specifically than LF) by analyzing the data and where the lameness occured at during stride. (Take off, impact, etc.) It's not going to tell you an exact, but it should narrow it down further. Or this was my understanding of it, and I could be wrong.
I paid I think $200 for the full exam, I'm wanting to say. It's been a couple of years, but I think it was around there.
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 On the Countdown
Posts: 2934
Location: Texas | I used it. We weren't sure what was wrong knew it was in the front but did't know what. When they pulled the gadget out I was like this is going to cost a fortune, wasn't as bad as I thought it would be! It found the issue. I would use it again if needed. BVEH is who I used. |
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Am I really the Weirdo?
Posts: 11181
Location: Kansas | TurnLane - 2014-05-09 9:41 AM As far as foot issues that maybe someone mentioned- it isnt going to tell you heel vs toe as those blocks can overlap- and no vet could tell any better than the LL did-- that would require an MRI IMO. Also- it sees 20 frames per second and no vet can see that. It is a great diagnostic tool that can save injections that are not needed. And vets can lose track of improvement from one block to the other- this shows the numbers and numbers dont lie.
That makes complete sense. I forgot about the takeoff vs impact graph on there - that was another really cool part.
As far as my horse goes, I was aware that he'd probably show sore on the heel of his right front foot, but LL said the primary lameness was right hind foot. The part I liked is that it narrowed the lameness down to his feet, even though pretty much everyone on here who watched his last video thought hocks, stifles, something in that neighborhood. Chance must have the best hocks on the planet because they never show up sore. LOL. If I'd gone with what it looked like his problem was to the naked eye, we'd have been injecting hocks and or stifles, neither of which were needed. |
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 Veteran
Posts: 232
Location: Winging It in KY | I will be interested to see what everyone has to say. I am debating myself on using this. My horse is visibly lame in the rear end so I would hope to have it pinpointed. Been to other vets, worked on hocks, did not work. Just wondering, has anyone here used Equine Medical Assoc. out of Lexington, KY? They have the Lameness Locator machine there but after talking with them yesterday on costs, etc. I found out that they come to your barn to do the work. So I would be happy to hear from anyone that has used them. Not trying to steal the thread, just covering all my bases. |
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 Husband Spoiler
Posts: 4151
Location: North Dakota | Anyone know of any vets up in the northern country that use the LL? I have a mare that is sore in the backend but I would love to pinpoint it. I am fairly certain on SI and right stifle. |
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Red Hot Cardinal Fan
Posts: 4122
| Just Bring It - 2014-05-09 11:35 AM Anyone know of any vets up in the northern country that use the LL? I have a mare that is sore in the backend but I would love to pinpoint it. I am fairly certain on SI and right stifle.
I believe on their website they have a directory of all the vets that have the LL. You may try there.... |
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