Pain identification tool Equine Pain Finder

Your Aid for Identifying and Locating Horse Pain

It's great that you're interested in the topic of horse pain! You’re part of a group of pioneers who genuinely care about equine welfare.

Do you sometimes find it difficult to identify horse pain, or would you like to learn more about it? Is it hard to distinguish between behavior that points to pain and behavior that indicates something else? Do you know how to spot movement errors or lameness, or would you like support with that? Do you hesitate when deciding if the horse should be examined by a vet, or where the horse should be assessed?

The Equine Pain Finder is developed to assist you:

• To identify signs of pain in the horse’s behavior, appearance, and movement
• To help localize the pain
• To teach more accurate observation of the horse and better understand its behavior

With the Equine Pain Finder, you get:

• An analysis of whether there’s a reason to suspect pain or not
• A list of signs and movement errors that indicate discomfort or pain in your horse, which you can use to help locate the pain yourself or show it to the vet for a more holistic and clearer picture.

The Equine Pain Finder is a survey that includes:

• Questions related to the horse’s behavior and demeanor
• A movement analysis with instructions on how to carry it out
• An assessment of the musculoskeletal system, where you can use bodywork reports (This is not part of the pain-related behavior threshold but provides additional information for the vet when included in the final report.)
• A total of about 270 yes/no questions, giving you a comprehensive picture of pain-related features in your horse. Set aside 20-30 minutes to complete the survey.

Motion analysis

By videotaping the horse in motion before taking the survey and answering questions related to movement based on them, you will get a more accurate result in which errors in movement are also taken into account. The tool provides instructions on what and how to video and watch movement.

You can also complete a survey by not responding to a movement segment or by answering it based on what you remember. In this case, the result you get will not be quite as accurate, but you should not leave the survey unused if analyzing your movement seems too challenging.

By doing motion analysis, you will also learn a lot about analyzing movement.

Regular use

By using the Equine Pain Finder regularly, you can monitor your horse's health closely. If the horse's behaviour changes, it is advisable to fill out the questionnaire again.

If your horse needs to be rehabilitated, you can use the Equine Pain Finder to monitor its recovery by monitoring changes in pain behaviour. If the pain behaviour does not go away within the time specified by the veterinarian, it may be worth treating or examining the horse further, i.e. contacting the veterinarian again.

If the horse shows only minor signs of discomfort, you can ask a body caregiver to treat your horse and give their own assessment of the situation.

Who is Equine Pain Finder made for?

For professionals in the horse industry, who can use it to analyse the behavior of their own horses as well as customers. A clear pain list from the program helps to locate the pain faster.

For example, horse body work professionals can use the tool to ask for basic information to build a clearer picture of the behavior or movement suggestive of pain in the horse and thus direct the horse owner to contact a veterinarian if necessary.

Horse owners or renters who can analyse their own horse's behaviour when suspecting even the slightest pain, noticing movement challenges or looking for a new horse to rule out pain behaviour. The list provided by the program helps the hobbyist when working with the veterinarian by providing a clearer, more holistic picture of the behavior and movement that indicates pain in the horse. This will help localize the pain faster.

Who is behind Equine Pain Finder?

The horse pain website and the Equine Pain Finder tool have been developed based on the idea of Doctor of Veterinary Medicine Ann-Helena Hokkanen, who specialises in animal pain, in collaboration with horse trainer and rehabilitator Mervi Pakola, who specialises in pain in horses. Get to know them more here https://equinepainfinder.com/pages/contact

The development of Equine Pain Finder has also been influenced by the equine professionals and enthusiasts involved in the pilot project. Based on their feedback, Equine Pain Finder has been developed and will continue to be developed in the future.