Understanding signs of pain in horses

Ann-Helena Hokkanen: I am a doctor of veterinary medicine with expertise in animal pain. I graduated as a veterinarian in 2007, and defended my doctoral thesis on disbudding pain in calves at the University of Helsinki in 2015. In 2016, I earned a European veterinary specialization degree in animal welfare (Dipl. EBVS-AWSEL). In summer 2022, I completed my 3-year postgraduate degree in pain management through the University of Edinburgh’s medical education program (MSc in the Clinical Management of Pain). Together with Mervi, we brainstormed the Equine Pain Finder, and I also had the honor of helping to develop it. Currently, I write and lecture on pain and pain alleviation in animals, and work on projects investigating better ways to alleviate pain in calves and piglets at the University of Helsinki.

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In this lecture, we will discuss what pain is and how it affects animals’ physiology and behavior. We will also focus on the impact of pain on equine behavior and how to recognize acute and persistent pain in horses as early as possible. We will also explore multimodal and multidisciplinary approaches to pain alleviation in horses and consider how to better account for the various mechanisms of pain and the individual factors influencing an equine patient’s pain experience.

This lecture is for anyone who wants to learn more about pain in horses and how to recognize and alleviate it.