Lameness is an alteration in the horse's locomotion caused by pain, mechanical or neurological dysfunction.
The horse must undergo a rigorous clinical exam that consists in two stages, a static where is evaluated, among others, conformation, body score, palpation, mobility, presence of bone exostosis, joint effusions and another called dynamic where the horse is observed in different surfaces, gaits and exercises.

Over the last decade several autologous therapies have been introduced in equine veterinary medicine, it started to be used platelet rich plasma (PRP), autologous conditioned serum (ACS/IRAP), autologous protein solution (APS/Pro-Stride), alpha2 EQ (A2M), stem cells, among others. The great benefit is to use the own blood/bone marrow allowing a better horse healing.

Consists in collecting and processing the horse´s blood resulting in a platelet concentrated, rich source of therapeutic growth factors that stimulate healing, less scar formation and pain reduction.
It´s mainly used in soft tissues, but also joints. 

Joints over time are subject to destruction leading to osteoarthritis.
Currently, the equine veterinary medicine uses ACS/IRAP which consists in collecting and processing the horse´s blood resulting in a rich concentrate of anti-arthritic and growth factors to be applied in a joint.

It´s effective in reducing joint inflammation, especially in arthritic joints that don´t respond to conventional therapies and stops the degradation of articular cartilage.

Nowadays, joint therapies, such as hyaluronic acid (HA), polyacrylamide hydrogels (PAAGs), are used in the osteoarthritis management, in sport horses.