Assessing Acute Pain in Horses Statistically Using a Facial Expression: An In-Depth Analysis
Abstract
The evaluation of pain is of crucial significance in monitoring the well-being and overall quality of life in horses. Although essential, more research is needed that focuses on pain scales particularly designed for the goal evaluation of pain in young horses. Face gestures can be used to measure severe discomfort in neonatal animals, as shown by previous studies conducted in other species. To overcome this, the current study attempted to modify the “EQUUS-FAP FOAL (Equine Utrecht University Scale for Facial Assessment of Pain in Foals (F))”, a face gestures discomfort hierarchy that was produced for mature horses, to enable significant pain assessment in foals. The seventy foals in the study, 30 sufferers with acute pain issues and 40 healthy controls were subjected to the “EQUUS-FAP FOAL” scale. Three observers who were blinded to the foals' videos, which lasted between 40 to 70 seconds, evaluated them. Acute medical conditions were identified in sufferer by clinical examination and further diagnostic tests. The scale's intra and inter-observer reliability was evaluated with Cronbach's alpha. With Cronhbach's alpha values of 0.96 and 0.97, respectively, “EQUUS-FAP FOAL” showed strong intra and inter-observer reliability (). Sufferer pain scores were greater than those of healthy controls () and they were lower after receiving intravenous flunixin meglumine or meloxicam, two Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug (NSAID) treatments. The results of this study provide support for the effectiveness of the facial expression-based “EQUUS-FAP FOAL” pain hierarchy for assessing acute pain in foals.
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