15/05/2026
🫁 Does your horse struggle to breathe during exercise?
And yet… everything seems perfectly normal at rest?
🏇 This is exactly the kind of situation where a dynamic respiratory scope (DRS) can make all the difference. Unlike a traditional endoscopy performed on a stationary horse, DRS allows veterinarians to evaluate the upper airways… during exercise.
Using a portable endoscope attached directly to the horse, our veterinarians can observe the function of the pharynx, larynx and upper respiratory tract in real time while the horse is working, under saddle or on the lunge.
🎯 Why is this so important?
Because some abnormalities only appear during exercise:
* abnormal respiratory noises
* decreased performance
* respiratory discomfort
* sudden stopping during work
… while the examination at rest may appear completely normal.
🔍 DRS is particularly useful for diagnosing dynamic upper airway obstructions, but also for helping guide the management of conditions such as equine asthma or exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage (EIPH).
💡 One of the major advantages of this examination is that it evaluates the horse under real working conditions: head position, tack setup, intensity of exercise…
At Equitom Namur, this advanced examination is performed by our internal medicine team to detect abnormalities that may remain invisible during a conventional examination.
🤝 This advanced examination is performed by Katrien Palmers through a collaboration between Equitom Namur and Clinique de Morette, both part of Equine Care Group, combining the expertise of both teams to offer horses a complete and accurate evaluation of their respiratory function during exercise.
Through the close collaboration within Equine Care Group and the sharing of clinical experience between both clinics, each case can be assessed in depth in order to guide the most appropriate diagnosis and management plan for every horse.
