Equine lameness detection and monitoring during diagnostic anaesthesia with an instrumented hoof boot.

Instrumented hoof boots reliably detect lameness and quantify diagnostic anaesthesia effects objectively.

This study evaluated instrumented hoof boots (IHBs) for objective lameness detection in 26 horses during diagnostic anaesthesia procedures. Horses were equipped with pressure-sensing boots and inertial sensors, with data collected before and after local anaesthetic blocks until lameness resolution. Peak vertical pressure (PVP) and impulse (AUC) measurements showed significant differences between lame and contralateral limbs at baseline (p<0.001), but these differences diminished after positive diagnostic anaesthesia, indicating improved limb loading symmetry. Peak loading rate (PLR) also showed significant changes (p=0.006 before, p=0.024 after anaesthesia). Mean PVP difference between limbs decreased from 3.54% to 0.90%, and AUC difference from 5.44% to 2.04% post-anaesthesia. The IHB successfully detected lameness-related asymmetry and monitored therapeutic response. Study limitations included small sample size, mixed diagnoses, unknown locomotion speeds, and diverse breed population. Results demonstrate IHB utility for objective lameness assessment beyond traditional subjective evaluation methods.

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