Reading subtle pain & discomfort signals

Daily handlers and senior grooms.

• ◆Score pain using validated grimace scales
• ◆Spot postural and gait cues at distance
• ◆Distinguish behavioural change from temperament
• ◆Document evidence vets find useful

1. 01.

   The Equine Pain Face

   Ears, eyes, nostrils, lower lip — what each tells you.

   • ·The six facial action units validated in the Horse Grimace Scale
   • ·Photo-scoring exercise — twenty case horses with reference scores
   • ·Why a normal grimace at rest can hide significant lameness
   • ·Repeated observation: building a 'normal' baseline per resident
2. 02.

   Postural cues

   Weight shifting, parking out, head carriage.

   • ·Stand-in-the-stable cues that predict laminitis flare 24–48 hours out
   • ·Camped-out, pointing and rest-position rotation patterns
   • ·Head carriage and neck base tension at the haynet
   • ·Filming protocol for vet referral — angle, length, lighting
3. 03.

   Behavioural drift

   Appetite, social position, response to handling.

   • ·Appetite changes that precede clinical signs by 5–10 days
   • ·Social withdrawal and changes in herd position
   • ·Handling: bridle, headcollar and rugging cues
   • ·Writing it down — a daily-checks template that vets find useful

Read the one-page Horse Grimace Scale primer (sent on enrolment) and observe each of your seniors for ten minutes the morning before the session.

Score eight short video clips at the end of the session against tutor reference; pass mark is 6/8.

• §Dalla Costa et al., 'Development of the Horse Grimace Scale' (PLoS ONE, 2014)
• §Gleerup et al., 'An Equine Pain Face' (Vet Anaesth Analg, 2015)
• §van Loon & Van Dierendonck, 'Monitoring acute pain in horses' (Vet J, 2015)