FREE SHIPPING over $40
OVER 9000 FIVE-STAR REVIEWS
5% OFF ALL SUBSCRIPTIONS
100% HAPPINESS GUARANTEE
Analyze Diet
0
Home / Equine Research Bank / Animals (Basel) / Objective Assessment of Chronic Pain in Horses Using the Hor...
Animals : an open access journal from MDPI2021; 11(6); 1826; doi: 10.3390/ani11061826

Objective Assessment of Chronic Pain in Horses Using the Horse Chronic Pain Scale (HCPS): A Scale-Construction Study.

Abstract: The objective assessment of chronic pain is of utmost importance for improving welfare and quality of life in horses. Freedom from disease and pain is one of the 'five freedoms' that are necessary for animal welfare. The aim of this study was to develop a pain scale for the assessment of chronic pain in horses (Horse Chronic Pain Scale; HCPS), which is based on behavioural and facial expressions. The scale was used to assess 53 horses (26 horses diagnosed with chronic painful conditions by means of clinical examination and additional diagnostic procedures (consisting of osteoarthritis, chronic laminitis, chronic back and neck problems, chronic dental disorders) and 27 healthy control animals). Animals were assessed once daily for three consecutive days by two observers that were blinded to the condition of the animals and were unaware of any analgesic treatment regimens. The HCPS consists of two parts, the Horse Chronic Pain Composite Pain Scale (HCP CPS, with behavioural parameters) and the EQUUS-FAP (Equine Utrecht University Scale for Facial Assessment of Pain). The HCP CPS had good inter-observer reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) = 0.84, < 0.001), while the EQUUS-FAP component (with facial expression-based parameters) had poor inter-observer reliability (ICC = 0.45, < 0.05). The inter-observer reliability of the combined HCPS was good (ICC = 0.78, < 0.001). The HCPS revealed significant differences between horses with chronic painful conditions and control horses on 2 out of 3 days ( < 0.05). In conclusion, we tested a composite pain scale for the assessment of chronic pain in horses based on behavioural and facial expression-based parameters. Further studies are needed to validate this pain scale before it can be used in practice.
Get Full Text
Publication Date: 2021-06-18 PubMed ID: 34207290PubMed Central: PMC8234780DOI: 10.3390/ani11061826Google Scholar: Lookup
The Equine Research Bank provides access to a large database of publicly available scientific literature. Inclusion in the Research Bank does not imply endorsement of study methods or findings by Mad Barn.
LinkedInCopy
  • Journal Article

Summary

This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.

This research was focused on developing a reliable tool, the Horse Chronic Pain Scale (HCPS), for identifying and quantifying chronic pain in horses, a critical component for improving their welfare and quality of life. The scale incorporated both behavioral and facial expression parameters and was tested on a sample of 53 horses, both healthy and those with diagnosed painful conditions, yielding largely good inter-observer reliability. However, more validation is required for the tool to be used effectively in veterinary practice.

Study Overview and Pain Scale Creation

  • The researchers sought to objectively assess and quantify chronic pain in horses, a significant factor in animal welfare and quality of life. To do this, they created the Horse Chronic Pain Scale (HCPS), a tool designed to rate the pain of horses based on behavioral and facial expressions.
  • The HCPS is composed of two parts: The Horse Chronic Pain Composite Pain Scale (HCP CPS) which rates behavioral parameters, and the Equine Utrecht University Scale for Facial Assessment of Pain (EQUUS-FAP), which rates facial expressions.

Testing of the Pain Scale

  • A total of 53 horses, 26 with chronic painful conditions and 27 healthy controls, were assessed using the HCPS. The horses’ conditions included osteoarthritis, chronic laminitis, chronic back and neck problems, and chronic dental disorders.
  • Observations were made once a day for 3 consecutive days by two observers, who were blinded to the conditions of the horses and unaware of any analgesic treatments given to the animals.

Results and Reliability of the Pain Scale

  • The HCP CPS component of the HCPS had good inter-observer reliability with an intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) of 0.84. This indicates that different observers rate the aspects measured by HCP CPS consistently.
  • The EQUUS-FAP component, which measures facial expressions, exhibited poor inter-observer reliability with an ICC of 0.45, suggesting it might require further refinement to enhance its reliability.
  • The combined HCPS, however, showed considerably good inter-observer reliability with an ICC of 0.78.
  • Using the HCPS, significant differences were observed between the horses diagnosed with chronic painful conditions and the control horses on 2 of the 3 observation days.

Conclusion and Future Steps

  • In conclusion, the researchers developed and tested a composite pain scale for assessing chronic pain in horses, incorporating both behavioral and facial expression-based parameters.
  • Despite the promising results, the authors emphasized that further tests need to be performed to validate the HCPS before it can be officially implemented in practice.

Cite This Article

APA
van Loon JPAM, Macri L. (2021). Objective Assessment of Chronic Pain in Horses Using the Horse Chronic Pain Scale (HCPS): A Scale-Construction Study. Animals (Basel), 11(6), 1826. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11061826

Publication

Animals : an open access journal from MDPI
ISSN: 2076-2615
NlmUniqueID: 101635614
Country: Switzerland
Language: English
Volume: 11
Issue: 6
PII: 1826

Researcher Affiliations

van Loon, Johannes P A M
  • Department of Equine Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, 3584 CM Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Macri, Lucia
  • Equine Department, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zürich, CH-8057 Zürich, Switzerland.

Conflict of Interest Statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

References

This article includes 30 references
  1. Parker RA, Yeates JW. Assessment of quality of life in equine patients.. Equine Vet J 2012 Mar;44(2):244-9.
    doi: 10.1111/j.2042-3306.2011.00411.xpubmed: 21767299google scholar: lookup
  2. McGowan CM, Ireland JL. Welfare, Quality of Life, and Euthanasia of Aged Horses.. Vet Clin North Am Equine Pract 2016 Aug;32(2):355-67.
    doi: 10.1016/j.cveq.2016.04.011pubmed: 27449393google scholar: lookup
  3. Fox MW. Determining animals Quality of Life: Veterinary criteria and assessment.. Arch. Vet. Sci. Med. 2019;2:1–7.
    doi: 10.26502/avsm.004google scholar: lookup
  4. Dalla Costa E, Dai F, Lebelt D, Scholz P, Barbieri S, Canali E, Zanella AJ, Minero M. Welfare assessment of horses: The AWIN approach.. Anim. Welf. 2016;25:481–488.
    doi: 10.7120/09627286.25.4.481google scholar: lookup
  5. Czycholl I, Klingbeil P, Krieter J. Interobserver Reliability of the Animal Welfare Indicators Welfare Assessment Protocol for Horses.. J Equine Vet Sci 2019 Apr;75:112-121.
    doi: 10.1016/j.jevs.2019.02.005pubmed: 31002084google scholar: lookup
  6. Dalla Costa E, Minero M, Lebelt D, Stucke D, Canali E, Leach MC. Development of the Horse Grimace Scale (HGS) as a pain assessment tool in horses undergoing routine castration.. PLoS One 2014;9(3):e92281.
    doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0092281pmc: PMC3960217pubmed: 24647606google scholar: lookup
  7. Gleerup KB, Lindegaard C. Recognition and quantification of pain in horses: A tutorial review.. Equine Vet. Educ. 2016;28:47–57.
    doi: 10.1111/eve.12383google scholar: lookup
  8. de Grauw JC, van Loon JP. Systematic pain assessment in horses.. Vet J 2016 Mar;209:14-22.
    doi: 10.1016/j.tvjl.2015.07.030pubmed: 26831169google scholar: lookup
  9. van Loon JPAM, Van Dierendonck MC. Objective pain assessment in horses (2014-2018).. Vet J 2018 Dec;242:1-7.
    doi: 10.1016/j.tvjl.2018.10.001pubmed: 30503538google scholar: lookup
  10. Taffarel MO, Luna SP, de Oliveira FA, Cardoso GS, Alonso Jde M, Pantoja JC, Brondani JT, Love E, Taylor P, White K, Murrell JC. Refinement and partial validation of the UNESP-Botucatu multidimensional composite pain scale for assessing postoperative pain in horses.. BMC Vet Res 2015 Apr 1;11:83.
    doi: 10.1186/s12917-015-0395-8pmc: PMC4393617pubmed: 25888751google scholar: lookup
  11. Dyson S, Berger J, Ellis AD, Mullard J. Development of an ethogram for a pain scoring system in ridden horses and its application to determine the presence of musculoskeletal pain.. J. Vet. Behavor. 2018;23:47–57.
    doi: 10.1016/j.jveb.2017.10.008google scholar: lookup
  12. Dyson S, Bondi J, Routh D, Pollard T, Preston C, McConnell J, Kydd H. An investigation of behavior during tacking-up and mounting in ridden sports and leisure horses.. Equine Vet. Educ. 2021.
    doi: 10.1111/eve.13432google scholar: lookup
  13. van Dierendonck MC, Burden FA, Rickards K, van Loon JPAM. Monitoring Acute Pain in Donkeys with the Equine Utrecht University Scale for Donkeys Composite Pain Assessment (EQUUS-DONKEY-COMPASS) and the Equine Utrecht University Scale for Donkey Facial Assessment of Pain (EQUUS-DONKEY-FAP).. Animals (Basel) 2020 Feb 22;10(2).
    doi: 10.3390/ani10020354pmc: PMC7070438pubmed: 32098391google scholar: lookup
  14. van Loon JPAM, de Grauw JC, Burden F, Vos KJ, Bardelmeijer LH, Rickards K. Objective assessment of chronic pain in donkeys using the donkey chronic pain scale (DCPS): A scale-construction study.. Vet J 2021 Jan;267:105580.
    doi: 10.1016/j.tvjl.2020.105580pubmed: 33375958google scholar: lookup
  15. Merksey H, Bogduk N. Classification of Chronic Pain.. 2nd ed. IASP Press; Seattle, WA, USA: 1994.
  16. Lavand'homme P. The progression from acute to chronic pain.. Curr Opin Anaesthesiol 2011 Oct;24(5):545-50.
    doi: 10.1097/ACO.0b013e32834a4f74pubmed: 21772141google scholar: lookup
  17. van Loon JP, Van Dierendonck MC. Monitoring acute equine visceral pain with the Equine Utrecht University Scale for Composite Pain Assessment (EQUUS-COMPASS) and the Equine Utrecht University Scale for Facial Assessment of Pain (EQUUS-FAP): A scale-construction study.. Vet J 2015 Dec;206(3):356-64.
    doi: 10.1016/j.tvjl.2015.08.023pubmed: 26526526google scholar: lookup
  18. Koo TK, Li MY. A Guideline of Selecting and Reporting Intraclass Correlation Coefficients for Reliability Research.. J Chiropr Med 2016 Jun;15(2):155-63.
    doi: 10.1016/j.jcm.2016.02.012pmc: PMC4913118pubmed: 27330520google scholar: lookup
  19. Torcivia C, McDonnell S. In-Person Caretaker Visits Disrupt Ongoing Discomfort Behavior in Hospitalized Equine Orthopedic Surgical Patients.. Animals (Basel) 2020 Jan 27;10(2).
    doi: 10.3390/ani10020210pmc: PMC7070845pubmed: 32012670google scholar: lookup
  20. Gleerup KB, Forkman B, Lindegaard C, Andersen PH. An equine pain face.. Vet Anaesth Analg 2015 Jan;42(1):103-14.
    doi: 10.1111/vaa.12212pmc: PMC4312484pubmed: 25082060google scholar: lookup
  21. Dalla Costa E, Bracci D, Daia F, Lebelt D, Minero M. Do Different Emotional States Affect the Horse Grimace Scale Score? A Pilot Study.. J. Equine Vet. Sci. 2017;54:114–117.
    doi: 10.1016/j.jevs.2017.03.221google scholar: lookup
  22. Lundblad J, Rashid M, Rhodin M, Haubro Andersen P. Effect of transportation and social isolation on facial expressions of healthy horses.. PLoS One 2021;16(6):e0241532.
    doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0241532pmc: PMC8177539pubmed: 34086704google scholar: lookup
  23. Shutty MS Jr, Cundiff G, DeGood DE. Pain complaint and the weather: weather sensitivity and symptom complaints in chronic pain patients.. Pain 1992 May;49(2):199-204.
    doi: 10.1016/0304-3959(92)90143-Ypubmed: 1608646google scholar: lookup
  24. Jamison RN, Anderson KO, Slater MA. Weather changes and pain: perceived influence of local climate on pain complaint in chronic pain patients.. Pain 1995 May;61(2):309-315.
    doi: 10.1016/0304-3959(94)00215-Zpubmed: 7659442google scholar: lookup
  25. Hielm-Björkman AK, Rita H, Tulamo RM. Psychometric testing of the Helsinki chronic pain index by completion of a questionnaire in Finnish by owners of dogs with chronic signs of pain caused by osteoarthritis.. Am J Vet Res 2009 Jun;70(6):727-34.
    doi: 10.2460/ajvr.70.6.727pubmed: 19496661google scholar: lookup
  26. Stadig S, Lascelles BDX, Nyman G, Bergh A. Evaluation and comparison of pain questionnaires for clinical screening of osteoarthritis in cats.. Vet Rec 2019 Dec 21;185(24):757.
    doi: 10.1136/vr.105115pmc: PMC6996100pubmed: 31619513google scholar: lookup
  27. Varricchio CG, Ferrans CE. Quality of life assessments in clinical practice.. Semin Oncol Nurs 2010 Feb;26(1):12-7.
    doi: 10.1016/j.soncn.2009.11.003pubmed: 20152574google scholar: lookup
  28. Bruns D, Disorbio JM, Hanks R. Chronic nonmalignant pain and violent behavior.. Curr Pain Headache Rep 2003 Apr;7(2):127-32.
    doi: 10.1007/s11916-003-0022-4pubmed: 12628054google scholar: lookup
  29. Fureix C, Menguy H, Hausberger M. Partners with bad temper: reject or cure? A study of chronic pain and aggression in horses.. PLoS One 2010 Aug 26;5(8):e12434.
    doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0012434pmc: PMC2928779pubmed: 20865160google scholar: lookup
  30. Dalla Costa E, Stucke D, Dai F, Minero M, Leach MC, Lebelt D. Using the Horse Grimace Scale (HGS) to Assess Pain Associated with Acute Laminitis in Horses (Equus caballus).. Animals (Basel) 2016 Aug 3;6(8).
    doi: 10.3390/ani6080047pmc: PMC4997272pubmed: 27527224google scholar: lookup

Citations

This article has been cited 7 times.
Subscribe to our newsletter
Join 99,357 horse owners like you who receive our email updates on horse health and nutrition.