Artificial intelligence has quietly worked its way into nearly every corner of our lives. It guides us home with Google Maps, answers us through Siri and Alexa, picks our next song on Spotify, and drafts our emails with ChatGPT.
Equine veterinary medicine is no exception. Over the past few years, some remarkable AI-driven technologies have entered the diagnosis and treatment of horses, with more arriving on the market every year.
When members of the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP), the largest equine veterinary organization in the world, were recently asked how they are using AI, three technologies came up most often: scribes for dictating medical records, objective gait analysis, and stall-side diagnostics. At the same time, discussions among equine veterinarians highlight real concerns — clients consulting ChatGPT, Claude and similar programs instead of their veterinarian, and a flood of new products whose promises may or may not hold up.
Let’s explore how these tools are actually being used and address these key concerns, keeping one focus at the center: doing what is best for the health and welfare of the horse.
What your veterinarian may already be using
AI scribes listen while a veterinarian talks and turn that dictation into a finished medical record. We have all heard about the burnout human physicians face from administrative work that eats into patient time and stretches their days; the same is true in equine practice. A good scribe saves the veterinarian time and tends to produce more complete, more detailed records — which in turn helps you better understand your horse’s health.
New gait analysis systems, using either video recordings of a horse in motion or small sensors applied to the body, can identify gait abnormalities at the walk and trot. They provide objective measurements that help pinpoint a subtle lameness, and they can be repeated over time to confirm whether a horse’s way of going has truly changed — or whether a treatment is working.
Finally, a number of stall-side diagnostic tools use AI to identify parasite eggs on fecal tests, detect a handful of common infectious diseases, or measure hormone levels such as ACTH and insulin, both factors in a common form of laminitis. Rather than waiting days for laboratory results, we can have answers within minutes — which means treatment starts sooner.
Dr. ChatGPT will see you now?
With so much information a few keystrokes away, it is no wonder horse owners ask themselves: should I call my vet, or see whether ChatGPT can tell me what ails my horse and save some time and money?
Two cautions before you try. First, chatbots are confidently wrong often enough to matter. They generate the most plausible-sounding answer from patterns in their training data, and they deliver a mistaken answer with exactly the same certainty as a correct one — and with no physical examination behind either. Second, and more important, is delay. A horse that seems mildly “off” or a bit colicky can be hours away from a surgical emergency. Time spent typing symptoms into a chatbot is time not spent on the phone with someone who can actually help. If your horse is colicking, bleeding, suddenly lame, or simply not itself, call your veterinarian first. Ask the chatbot later.
Where these tools genuinely shine is alongside your veterinarian, not instead of them.
Why the combination beats either one alone
AI is often better than people at recognizing patterns — an abnormal gait, an oval shape that is a worm egg. People are far better at context: the horse’s history, its job, its quirks. AI can tell you a horse is lame on the right front. A veterinarian knows that the right front leg has a club foot, that the thin sole on that foot bruises when the ground hardens in summer, and that this particular horse goes better with pads from July through September.
Human medicine has already measured what this partnership is worth. In large breast cancer screening studies in Germany and Sweden, radiologists reading mammograms with AI support detected roughly 18 to 20 per cent more cancers than radiologists working alone, without raising the false-alarm rate. The AI caught subtle patterns; the radiologists supplied judgment and context. Together they outperformed either alone — and that is exactly the model for AI in your horse’s care.
There is also the simple fact that AI cannot touch, smell or hear your horse, and what it can see is limited. A veterinarian can feel the heat and tenderness in an injured tendon, smell the tell-tale odour of a rotten tooth or a foot abscess, and hear the crackle in one small area of a lung. No app replaces a physical exam.
Does it actually work? The validation problem
Veterinarians share one more concern about the wave of AI products entering our space: validity. Just because a vendor says its stall-side analyzer can detect worm eggs — how accurate is it really? Unlike drugs, most of these tools face little regulatory review before they are sold, so the burden of proof lands on the profession. It is our duty to verify that a device or program has been validated against recognized gold standards before offering it; our licence is on the line if we rely on a tool that gives false results. When your veterinarian recommends — or declines to recommend — a particular technology, that judgment is itself a useful guide to what works.
Making AI work for you and your horse
- Use chatbots to learn, not to diagnose. After your veterinarian makes a diagnosis, ChatGPT or Claude is excellent at explaining unfamiliar terms, laying out what a rehab program involves, and helping you draft good questions for your next call.
- In an emergency, call first. Minutes matter with colic, and no chatbot can pass a stomach tube.
What’s next
The future of AI in equine healthcare is bright, with wearable devices for horses representing the next exciting frontier. Still, we must ensure these technologies provide accurate data before fully embracing them.
AI offers a snapshot in time, but only your veterinarian understands the full picture: your horse’s complete history, athletic expectations, management environment, and the unique bond you share. Used thoughtfully, AI isn’t a substitute for veterinary care—it’s a tool that helps fill in the missing pieces to keep your horse healthy and performing at their best.
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After more than 29 years of practicing in the field with a focus on lameness, podiatry and dentistry, Dr. Mike Pownall now consults with the veterinarians of McKee-Pownall Equine Services on lameness and podiatry cases. A major part of his role now involves managing the practices, and he also speaks internationally on social media and veterinary practice management. Pownall is chair of the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) Task Force on Emerging Technologies and serves as the equine representative on the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) Task Force on Emerging Technologies.
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