The world equestrian games are being held in Lexington Kentucky this week.
I was invited by United Infrared to be a part of their program at the world equestrian games which is being displayed at the Equine IR Booth # 524.
http://www.blog.unitedinfrared.com/?cat=3
Though there are significant equestrian activities that occur in the State of Tennessee which United Infrared Peter Hopkins would like me to represent their organization within this state, I have found little response from horse owners concerning this nonintrusive diagnostic procedure.
I told my wife (who is currently attending the world equestrian games this weekend) that if I could find something that I could put a picture of a horse on, I would have a marketable product.
Surprisingly, even at the cost of a new set of horse shoes I have found few equestrian owners in this area interested in this extremely effective diagnostic procedure.
Normally a veterinarian must actually hurt the horse to get a response to identify what part of the anatomy of the horse is experiencing problems." Hoof Testers (a large set of vice-grips), Nerve blocking (multiple injections to see when the horse no longer exhibits a painful reaction)" is currently the norm.
Radiographs detect bone injury but do little to assist in diagnosing soft tissue damages. These injuries can be detected weeks prior to the horse showing lameness, and up to a month after the horse has received a vet check allowing the horse to resume training.
Infrared thermal imaging can detect inflammation as well as nerve damage. No radiographs can actually diagnose the type of injury the horse is experiencing.
I have worked with local veterinarians in Nashville, Bowling Green Kentucky and Lexington Kentucky on horses from my boarding stable. They are very intrigued by the capabilities of this technology, but are slow to employ this technique on a routine basis.
I went so far as to perform my level II field assignment on a horse, rather than a nuclear power plant (where most of the students in the class originated from). I received exceptional response from the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand! To this day, DVM’s send the papers about their applications for thermal imaging from abroad.
Any thermal imaging camera owner considering application uses outside of the construction field should diligently research their endeavors before committing time and resources to areas outside of their expertise. Though the technology and equipment are more than adequate, this technology is ever so slowly being accepted in some areas of application.
Additional information available at:
http://www.thermalimagingscan.com/equine_thermograpny_tennessee