Sleip software is a helpful addition to a veterinarian’s tools but cannot replace the expertise of your vet. When evaluating lameness, your vet conducts a thorough examination, considering potential underlying issues like neurological problems, metabolic disorders, environmental influences, systemic illnesses (such as equine metabolic syndrome or Cushing’s), cardiovascular or respiratory conditions, infections, conformation irregularities, bilateral lameness, hoof health, and shoeing.

However, visual assessments have limitations:

• The human eye processes fewer frames per second than technology, making it difficult to detect the smallest gait changes (often early signs of lameness). Early detection improves treatment outcomes and recovery.

• Studies show the same person evaluating a lame horse twice may give slightly different assessments each time, highlighting human inconsistency. AI reduces this variability.

• Lameness evaluation is subjective, and even lameness experts may disagree on which leg is the primary issue, the severity of the issue, or changes over time, especially when follow-up assessments involve different vets.

• A vet’s perspective can be influenced by prior knowledge, such as focusing on a nerve-blocked limb and overlooking broader changes.

While AI can assist in identifying which limbs are affected and detecting asymmetries in a horse’s stride, it cannot determine the exact source of the issue or identify which limb structures are involved. It also doesn’t incorporate findings from other diagnostics, such as neurological evaluations, or account for individual factors like your horse’s unique needs, environment, or care goals.

So, although technology can’t replace your vet, it does enhance lameness investigations by detecting subtle, early changes, providing objective data, reducing subjectivity, and supporting evidence-based decisions. It also facilitates communication among veterinary professionals involved in your horse’s care.

In the Sleip report, you will be able to see precise measures of asymmetries and illustrations of the level of asymmetry using colours. It also shows the number of strides analysed, stride variation, an overview of the forelimb and hindlimb results, push-off and impact graphs for each of the 4 limbs, combined analysis for lungeing videos including directional analysis with push-off and impact graphs for each of the 4 limbs. Vets can then interpret the findings and recommend any necessary next steps.

Gait analysis is just one piece of the complex diagnostics puzzle in lameness assessments, providing vets with objective data to help with clinical diagnosis. Sleip’s insights must be interpreted in the context of the horse’s overall condition; used as part of a holistic approach to equine care – supporting your veterinarian’s expertise and decision-making process.