With horse owners being increasingly knowledgeable about matters of equine soundness, locomotive screening is enjoying a high profile. Equinalysis, a company carrying out video-based gait screening through a network of clinicians known as Business Partners, would like to recruit Referral Partners – a network of leading equine practitioners, predominantly vets and farriers.

Bushy Equine Vets in Berkeley, Gloucestershire, and The Farrier Centre in Usk, Monmouthshire, are two examples of elite Equinalysis veterinary and farriery Referral Partners (RPs), respectively. “We’d love more vets and farriers to come on board as RPs,” says Equinalysis’ Haydn Price, BEF Consultant Farrier. “Using a system of markers placed on key joints and areas on the body, Equinalysis practitioners can narrow down key areas of concern to a limb, or portion of the limb. The resulting info can be invaluable for professionals in terms of assisting their diagnosis.”

“An RP will be a leading practitioner; we are especially interested in recruiting vets or farriers,” says Equinalysis’ Managing Director, Walter May. “The RP will provide equine screening services, but be limited to using the Equinalysis system at a central location, typically within their practice premises, as an adjunct to their existing practice. An RP would not be assigned a geographical area, or offer a mobile service, as our existing Business Partners (BPs) provide. We envisage a ratio of around 5:1, between BPs and RPs. Local BPs would liaise and work with their local farrier or vet RP, referring certain equine cases, and working jointly on cases where veterinary and/or farriery is a key requirement.”

BPs pay an accreditation fee to Equinalysis, and also a percentage of their screening fees – Walter anticipates that RPs would work with Equinalysis in a similar way, although would pay a lower annual accreditation fee. “We would expect our RP's to identify and work with Equinalysis and its advisors to develop new processes and procedures for specific equine problems,” he adds.

An open day is being held on Thurs 10th April at Kilbees Farm Stud (www.kilbeesfarmstud.co.uk) in Windsor, Berks, from 3-7pm. For info, please email julie.hope@equinalysis.co.uk, call 01291 671351 or visit www.equinalysis.co.uk