LEXINGTON, Ky. — In their lifetime, most horses will experience some sort of lameness ranging from pain to neurological diseases.

Since horses can’t identify themselves what the issue is, veterinarians specializing in equine care must locate the exact problem using MRI and other technology.

Dr. Katy Dern is a surgeon at Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington and works to keep racehorses in top shape for the season.

“We do racehorse work as far as just as allowing them to perform optimally. Just making sure that they can run and they are sound,” Dern said.

One of the most common things she treats racehorses for is lameness or an impairment in the horse’s movement.

“If I’m limping and I know it’s because my toe hurts because I just stubbed it or my knee hurts, but horses can’t tell us that same thing,” Dern said. “So if they’re moving differently, carrying their weight differently, oftentimes it can very subtle but it can affect their performance.”

However, advancements in horse imaging have made it easier to detect what exactly is causing the lameness. Including access to PC CT and MRI scans.

“A lot of times we can diagnose problems when they’re just in the developmental phase before it gets to the point of where they need some type of surgical intervention,” Dern said.

Lameness can be issues related to bones, muscles or a neurological disorder.

“They have shoulders that have soft tissue. We see tendon injuries as well as bone chips, that sort of thing,” Dern said.

Dern and the other doctors at Rood and Riddle work on horses from all around the world. Many have or will go on to race in the Kentucky Derby.

Rood and Riddle has three locations, with the main campus in Lexington.

They also have offices in Saratoga, N.Y. and Wellington, Fla.