Five and 60-Second Flexion Tests Yield Similar Results

The researchers found that hock flexion for five and 60 second yielded similar results in flexion tests.
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Every horse owner is familiar with the ubiquitous flexion test, which veterinarians regularly employ to exacerbate baseline lameness and reveal unknown internal issues in horses. No standard duration, however, dictates how long veterinarians should hold the limb in the flexed position. Researchers recently tested the results of comparative full hind limb flexions held for five seconds and for 60 seconds in order to assess the viability of shortening the time commonly spent applying flexions.

Limb flexions are subjective in nature; the application of the flexion test and the interpretation of the results vary between veterinarians. Warren Beard, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVS, professor of equine surgery at Kansas State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, noted that the practitioner performing the test must take into account the duration of flexion, force applied during flexion, and age and use of the horse.

During the study researchers used videos of lameness examinations of 34 horses that ranged from completely sound to very lame. The exams included a 60-second proximal (upper) hind limb flexion and a five-second flexion of the same leg.

A panel of 15 equine clinicians reviewed one video recording of the baseline lameness paired with the five-second flexion and another of the baseline lameness paired with the 60-second flexion to evaluate the degree of lameness each horse showed during each flexion test. The recordings were edited to show only the last two seconds of flexion followed by the trot segment. The clinicians were unaware of the aim of the study, and a random sampling of 10 of the cases were repeated for evaluation

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Freelance journalist Natalie DeFee Mendik is a multiple American Horse Publications editorial and graphics awards winner specializing in equestrian media. She holds an MA in English from Colorado State University and an International Federation of Journalists’ International press card, and is a member of the International Alliance of Equestrian Journalists. With over three decades of horse experience, Natalie’s main equine interests are dressage and vaulting. Having lived and ridden in England, Switzerland, and various parts of the United States, Natalie currently resides in Colorado with her husband and two girls.

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