A MALTON equine hospital has reached a special milestone for horses treated with its state-of-the-art equipment.

Rainbow Equine Hospital has reached the landmark of 1,000 horses to have benefited from a revolutionary MRI scanner that enables its equine patients to remain standing.

The technology is used to provide detailed images of horses’ feet and fetlock joints and has transformed the ability to diagnose lameness in horses.

Rainbow Equine Hospital is one of only a handful of equine hospitals to have the equipment and a registered specialist radiologist onsite to interpret the scan results.

Racehorses and competition horses, as well as children’s ponies and pleasure horses, are among the equines to have benefited.

What makes the MRI scans special is that they are obtained with the horse standing and sedated - avoiding the need for a general anaesthetic - and the procedure is completely non-invasive and painless.

Rainbow vet Jonathon Dixon, a specialist in diagnostic imaging, said: “The MRI scanner is considered by the hospital to be one of the most vital pieces of equipment available.

“We are delighted to be able to offer this as a service, not only to local clients, but also to veterinary surgeons from across the north of England who refer cases to us.

“Typically, between 300 and 500 images are obtained of each foot, and the images provide detailed insight into the bones and, importantly, the soft tissues, including flexor tendons and joint surfaces, which cannot be obtained by any other means.”

See next week’s Gazette & Herald for an in-depth look at Rainbow Equine Hospital and the groundbreaking work it does.