15/09/2026
AI is a tool! not a diagnosis. 🐴
I use AI regularly in my own day to day practice. It helps with things like clinical notetaking, researching topics and organizing information. More broadly, AI and machine learning are already being investigated in equine medicine for things such as objective gait analysis and quantifying locomotion.
And that’s where I think AI can be incredibly useful.
But there is a big difference between AI supporting a clinical assessment and asking ChatGPT to diagnose why your horse is sore or lame.
Research into veterinary AI is promising, but current large language models don’t consistently match experienced vets, saddle fitters,physios etc.
A chatbot can’t palpate your horse. It can’t perform a complete lameness examination, diagnostic analgesia,check saddle pressure points or determine whether a finding is actually clinically significant in the horse standing in front of you.
Even with objective gait analysis, identifying an asymmetry is not the same as determining its clinical significance or diagnosing its underlying cause.
Use AI to learn, research, bounce ideas around and ask better questions, this is what is was intended for!
Use qualified professionals to examine, diagnose and treat the horse in front of you.
📚 Further reading:
Serra Bragança et al. (2020) — Improving gait classification in horses by using inertial measurement unit (IMU) generated data and machine learning. Scientific Reports.
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-73215-9
Kibar et al. (2026) — Observer-Performance Comparison of ChatGPT-5 and Gemini 2.5 Pro Versus Veterinarians in Canine and Feline Fundus Interpretation. Veterinary Ophthalmology.
https://doi.org/10.1111/vop.70138
Comparative diagnostic performance of large language models and clinicians for splenic diseases in dogs and cats (2026). The Veterinary Journal.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tvjl.2026.106776
