Meet EARL. This was the project that led to OHMT’s inception in 2014 as Dr. Julia Montgomery, a large animal internal medicine specialist, previously at the WCVM, now a professor at Oklahoma State University, had the idea of developing and using a one-of-a-kind robotic lift system for rehabilitation of horses suffering from acute injuries or other musculoskeletal or neurologic conditions.

As Dr. Montgomery explains, the challenge with treating these injuries in horses is not the treatment of the original fracture but is instead caused by compensation injuries such as supporting-limb laminitis. In 2006, this was highlighted as Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro broke his right hind fetlock while racing. The surgery was successful to repair the leg; however, 8 months into recovery Barbaro had to be euthanized due to developing laminitis (separation of the lamina in the hoof) in his other feet.

EARL allows clinicians to reduce and redistribute the weight of injured animals to help prevent these complications, while still allowing the horse to move around freely. Previously installed in Saskatchewan’s Western College of Veterinary Medicine (2016-2023) EARL is currently installed at the New Bolton Center at the University of Pennsylvania and has a bright future ahead in rehabilitation and research into equine musculoskeletal diseases and compensation injuries such as supporting limb laminitis.

We are actively working with researchers to improve the system, while also developing accessories such as specialized horse shoes, pressure-sore preventative harnesses, and controlled limb cooling systems. 

Is this a project that interests you? Get in touch today! Also, check out our Products section on our Rehabilitative Lifts to see where some of these technologies have already been applied.