Pain. The Merriam-Webster electronic dictionary defines pain as 1: punishment; 2: usually localized physical suffering associated with bodily disorder (as a disease or an injury); also, a basic bodily sensation induced by a noxious stimulus, received by naked nerve endings, characterized by physical discomfort (as pricking, throbbing, or aching), and typically leading to evasive action.

In equine terms, it sounds like a pretty good description–something that is punishing and which leads to evasive action. The question is, how can you manage pain situations in order to decrease your horse’s punishing discomfort and hopefully continue with riding activities?

Causes of Pain

Many things can cause acute or chronic pain in horses. “As a species, they seem to commonly encounter situations that lead to tissue damage and acute pain,” notes Janyce Seahorn, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVA, Dipl. ACVIM, Dipl. ACVECC, medical director of Vet-scans.com. “These conditions include colic, acute laminitis secondary to a variety of insults, lacerations, hematomas, septic arthritis, muscle and ligament damage, fractures associated with trauma, exercise-induced myopathy (muscle problems), and catastrophic burns as a result of barn fires. The most commonly encountered acute pain scenarios are colic, acute laminitis, traumatic injury, and surgical procedures