How inertial measurement unit technology is improving lameness detection and horse welfare.
IMU lameness detection technology represents a major welfare advance in equine veterinary medicine by making visible the subclinical lameness that experienced human observers consistently miss. The welfare significance is substantial - horses with undetected subclinical lameness continue in work while experiencing pain that, if detected, would trigger rest and treatment. The technology transforms lameness assessment from an art dependent on skilled observation to a science producing objective, reproducible measurements that support earlier intervention. The democratization of objective lameness detection through increasingly affordable devices is expanding welfare monitoring access beyond specialist veterinary practices to first-opinion equine practitioners.