Saskatoon veterinary researches want to limit the amount of horses that have to be put down because of limb injuries.
Horses carry most of their weight on their front legs, which is problematic for a horse’s weight distribution if a limb is injured.
“They will put a lot of their load onto the healthy limbs. That will ultimately overload the limbs and cause secondary problems,” said Julia Montgomery, an assistant professor at the University of Saskatchewan’s Western College of Veterinary Medicine.
“Horses, right now, often don’t have to actually be put down because of the primary problem – but because of some of the complications they develop during rehabilitation.”
Montgomery and graduate student Samantha Steinke are developing a harness that can control where a horse’s weight is distributed. The harness works in conjunction with a lift system created by a local engineering company.
“The weight will be transferred to the lift. We can dial weight in, however much weight we want to take off, and that's what supports the horse’s weight when they're moving around – so their legs aren't supporting that weight,” Steinke told CTV News.
The lift’s controller is 3D printed and the harness is made from racecar seatbelts for quick release.
“Hopefully horses will develop less complications, or avoid complications all together and reduce the fatalities we unfortunately still see in the sport horse industry,” Montgomery said.
The lift and harness are still in the development and testing phase, but the researchers aim to use their invention on horse patients at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine next year.
