How to Evaluate Clinically Indistinct Gait Deficits to Differentiate Musculoskeletal and Neurological Causes

1. Introduction
Gait deficits are commonly encountered in equine practice. They occur for a wide variety of reasons, but their effect on the performance horse is to impair its ability to safely and comfortably exercise, train, and compete to its potential. Equine veterinarians are expected to identify more and more causes of gait deficits that are produced by conditions other than osteoarthritis or appendicular inflammation and injury. Horse owners and trainers are presenting their horses for evaluation earlier in the progression of these conditions. The presentation of the horse when clinical signs are less severe requires our ability to identify the etiology of a gait deficit that may be clinically indistinct. The successful diagnosis of such gait problems is facilitated by organization and expansion of the diagnostic protocol. The suggested protocol in this abstract will assist the equine veterinarian to categorize the deficit to a body system and to subsequently pursue a specific diagnosis of the gait deficit within the affected body system. Using the proposed diagnostic protocol, an accurate diagnosis will be facilitated and earlier therapeutic intervention will produce better outcomes, even in the situation when the gait deficits are clinically indistinct or unusual. [...]