CT machine put through its paces

JONATHAN CAMERON/ The Manawatu Standard

OUT TO IT: Dressage horse Sydney is moved on to the padded table, ready for a CT scan of his foreleg. He was the first horse to go through the machine.

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Top dressage horse Sydney had his foot put through Massey University's CT scan machine yesterday, in an effort to learn more about his hoof problem.

The 8-year-old gelding was the first horse to go through the machine.

He was anaesthetised in the padded "knock down" room next to the scanner, and lifted in a cradle through to the CT scan's large animal table.

Equine surgeon Frederick Pouwels was among the many veterinary specialists and students working on the horse.

"We know he has a cyst in his foot bone. We're taking three scans, one to look at the bones, and adding dye so we can see the soft tissue in the foot too," said Mr Pouwels.

With the extra information provided by the CT scan, he said it would enable him to make the best decision on the surgery required for Sydney's foot.

He was a large gelding, at over 18 hands in height, and weighing around 780 kilograms.

Massey was meeting some of the expense, as a teaching and research veterinary institution, but Mr Pouwels said the cost to the owner was about $1200 to $1400. "That's cheap. We're pricing it so people are able to do it ..."

He said owners were happy to spend money on valuable horses, such as this one, which had a promising dressage career.

"They've invested a lot of time in a dressage horse, and if something goes wrong you don't just go out and buy another."

The large size of the horse made the CT scan process longer than expected. But the horse remained anaesthetised by injection throughout the procedure. The horse could be "out" for no more than 90 minutes, Mr Pouwels said.

The $1.1 million scanning facility includes a knock-down box, where large animals can be safely anaesthetised, a hoist able to lift up to 1.5 tonnes and a $470,000 Philips CT scanner, the only one of its type in New Zealand.

- © Fairfax NZ News