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Older horses are more likely to suffer from chronic, pain-causing conditions but less likely to receive veterinary care than nongeriatric horses.

Posted by Lucile Vigouroux | Oct 4, 2021 | Horse Care, Lameness, Medications, Older Horse Care Concerns, Pain Management, Welfare and Industry

“Chronic pain likely affects most, if not all, geriatric horses,” stated Alex Bianco, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVIM, clinical faculty in large animal internal medicine at the University of Minnesota. Bianco compiled the latest research in equine pain management and shared her findings at the 2021 Veterinary Meeting and Expo (VMX) in Orlando, Florida.

While it’s a common contributor to the horse owner’s decision to euthanize a senior equine companion, chronic pain is nonetheless poorly recognized by the average equestrian. “Identifying pain needs to be the role of the veterinarian,” Bianco said. “Research has demonstrated horse owners’ difficulty in doing so.”

She cited a 2020 Swiss study in which experienced horse owners declared 182 horses to be sound, when veterinarians had actually found that 100 of them were a grade 2 or higher out of 5 on the AAEP lameness scale. And lameness is a characteristic component of conditions associated with chronic pain, such as osteoarthritis and laminitis. Muller et al. (2018) also found that geriatric horses are less likely to receive lameness examinations than their nongeriatric counterparts. The bottom line: In many cases owners of geriatric horses won’t recognize a lameness themselves or ask their veterinarian for routine soundness examinations. This leaves their senior equines at risk of suffering from undiagnosed – and, therefore, unmanaged – chronic pain.

The study by Muller and colleagues also featured the reassuring fact that horse owners highly value their veterinarian’s opinion. Practitioners, therefore, can take steps to promote good pain management. Bianco described the following as options to consider when systemically addressing chronic pain in geriatric horses:

Bianco also outlined common local therapeutic options:

With any treatment plan, Bianco emphasized the need for frequent veterinary reassessment of a chronically painful geriatric horse. Equally important is the ‘end-point’ discussion, which might include hospice care in advanced cases. “Quality vs. length of life must be evaluated,” she said. “The ideal life for our horses is the longest quality life.”

Lucile Vigouroux holds a master’s degree in Equine Performance, Health, and Welfare from Nottingham Trent University (UK) and an equine veterinary assistant certification from AAEVT. She is a New-York-based freelance author with a passion for equine health and veterinary care. A Magnawave-certified practitioner, Lucile also runs a small equine PEMF therapy business. Her lifelong love of horses motivated her to adopt her college care horse, Claire, upon graduation.

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