Equine Orthopaedics & Lameness with Dr Jessica Kidd
My first introduction to Dr Jessica Kidd was at the Horses Inside Out Conference in February 2023 where Jessica was a guest speaker and presented lectures covering ‘An Update on Diagnosis and Treatment of Back Conditions & Upper Hind Limb lameness in horses’.
Jessica is based in Oxfordshire and is a consultant surgeon who works with equine practices throughout the UK. Her areas of expertise are orthopaedic and soft tissue surgery as well as lameness investigations and associated imaging modalities.
I was completely engaged with her every word during the lectures and fascinated by the images she shared of equine orthopaedic surgery as well as diagnostic images.
When I heard that Horses Inside Out would be hosting a whole day online Seminar with Jessica I could not wait to get my ticket so that I could watch it presented live.
And I have to say I was not disappointed.
This seminar, titled ‘Understanding Equine Orthopaedic Problems’ was an absolutely jam packed full day of information and fantastic dissection photographs and diagnostic imaging to see and have explained by Jessica.
I am so glad that purchasing the ticket to this seminar came with lifetime access to the recording of the presentations as there was so much to take in I think I will be referring back to this one regularly.
The seminar has accompanying handouts covering:
· The neck
· The back
· The sacroiliac region
· Top 10 lamenesses
I find the handouts are something extremely useful to have saved to my phone, so I can refer to them anytime when I am out and about.
And then the presentations themselves are split into sections:
· The neck
· Regenerative Medicine
· The back
· The sacroiliac region
· Top 10 lamenesses
As an Equine Massage Therapist myself, I found the sections on Regenerative Medicine very useful. Of course I do have clients with horses that unfortunately suffer injuries and/or pathology, so knowing more about the various veterinary products offered and used on horses to assist with these issues, what they are made from & how they work can be really helpful in order for me to be able to understand what results we would expect to see and how soon.
This can help me with assessing horses in recovery and advising clients, managing expectations and also know when to refer them back to their vet.
One of my particular favourite parts of the seminar was seeing the diagnostic imaging, particularly X-ray & Ultrasound and having Jessica explain what she is seeing on the images, what ‘normal’ should look like and where the pathology is. As well as showing the different views that can be achieved with imaging.
Although I am not a vet and therefore not required to take imaging or interpret it for my job, and of course diagnosing pathology is actually against the law for me to do, it is so useful to be able to see and understand them.
I find that if I have a good understanding of the images for the horse I am working on I can use these as a picture in my head when I am working on a horse, and understand just what is going on under my hands or what we are having an influence on when using prescriptive exercise for the horses.
The 'Top Ten Lamenesses' section of the talk was also very useful and will be a great resource to refer back to if and when I come across any of these in practice. Jessica describes the possible causes of each lameness and includes the anatomy of the structure affected, how the injury or pathology may look on the diagnostic imaging, how the lameness may present as well as her preferred treatment options. I think this information is really useful for horse owners and therapists alike. The more knowledge we have the quicker we can recognise issues and seek the relevant treatment, and with knowledge and understanding we can also be realistic with our expectations of the available treatments and chances of recovery.
The seminar also finishes with a Q&A including some fab questions from the live attendees,
Usually when I write a blog about Gillian’s webinars & seminars I like to include a list of key points that stood out to me. But I think in this case this would actually be difficult for me to do. Firstly because there was so much information in the seminar that the list would be humungous! But also because I think this particular seminar is one that depending on the person that is viewing it and what their current knowledge is or area of interest and expertise, I think everyone is going to get something different out of this.
I am so grateful for the lifetime access as I think if I watch this back in another year’s time, I will almost certainly learn more from it again with some of the additional knowledge and experience I might have gained over that year.
This seminar is truly going to be a beneficial investment for anyone with an interest in Equine Orthopaedics & lameness, whether that be for their own horse at home or professionally. I urge you not to miss out on a chance to learn from this incredible veterinary professional!
Jess