Radiography Services

At Ryder-Davies and Partners we have a fully portable, wireless digital X-ray machine that is battery powered and so radiographs can be taken at your yard or at the clinic. As it is digital we can assess the radiographs at the time of taking them, but might need to look at them in more depth at the practice in certain situations. We ideally require a slightly dark area with a flat surface as well as someone to hold the horse who is over 18 and not pregnant. If you are holding the horse you will be asked to wear a lead gown to protect you from the radiation, everybody else will be asked to vacate the area whilst we take the radiographs. Occasionally we might require the horse to stand on wooden blocks or to rest their foot on a special ‘Hickmans’ block. The horse may or may not require sedation, this usually depends on the horse’s temperament and the areas that we are trying to radiograph. If we are imaging the feet then we may need to remove the horse’s shoes before x-raying.

Radiography is usually the choice of imaging used when evaluating lameness and we often work closely with farriers to aid remedial trimming/shoeing for laminitis and foot pain.

Some insurance policies will require specific radiographs to be taken during a Pre-Purchase Examination. Please ensure you have spoken to the company you wish to use prior to the exam.