Why is the pain experienced in foal particularly harmful?
Pain strains the body, consumes energy, causes negative emotions, and decreases welfare, no matter what age the horse is experiencing pain. However, there are many reasons why pain is particularly harmful to foals.
It's crucial to understand that pain in foals is not just a discomfort, but a significant strain on their bodies. At a time when their young bodies are adapting to a multitude of changes and responding to various challenges, the burden of pain can interfere with their growth and development. This is particularly true for younger foals, who are more vulnerable to the harmful effects of pain.
The pain is all the more damaging, the younger the foal has to experience it.
Furthermore, it's important to note that a foal's brain is not yet accustomed to pain, leading them to perceive all pain as potentially life-threatening. This unique response means that pain can trigger a more pronounced reaction in foals than in their more mature counterparts.
The pain also disturbs the foal's sleep, causes negative emotions, and can make learning difficult. Sufficient sleep is especially vital for foals. Without sleep, foals get sick. Moreover, the growth hormone needed for normal growth is secreted the most during sleep. High-quality sleep is also necessary for the effective functioning of immunity. Similarly, difficulties in learning and, for example, in social relationships often burden a growing and developing horse more than an adult one. The situation is even more complicated with long-lasting pain because the foal cannot adapt to the long-term burden resulting from long-lasting pain.
Good sleep secures the foal's growth and development. Pain disturbs sleep and is thus very harmful.
Pain experienced as a foal can also permanently change how the horse's body reacts to pain during adulthood. Although the matter has only been studied a little in horses, practical experience tells us, for example, of horses that have had a difficult birth and have reacted very strongly to painful things, such as vaccinations, from an early age. The matter has already been studied in sheep. The researchers found that tail docking performed in the first week of life leads to more substantial labor pain during the first parturition than those ewes that had not had to experience pain as a newborn. In addition, it has been observed in humans that severe pain experienced as a newborn doubles the patient's risk of developing long-lasting pain later in life as an adult.
There are many significant and good reasons to prevent the pain experienced by the foal whenever possible. In addition, we must be able to alleviate the pain experienced by the foal effectively. However, this is often very difficult, especially if the foal is a newborn. Fortunately, more research about pain in foals is on the way.