The dire need for new drugs to control pain and better ways to assess pain in horses has been widely addressed, but how exactly does one go about achieving this goal? By using well-designed research models of pain, say experts.

"Pain is extremely common in such conditions as colic and lameness, and to successfully treat these horses, alleviating their pain is essential," explained Linda C. Sanchez, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACVIM, assistant professor at the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine’s departments of Large Animal Internal Medicine and Large Animal Clinical Sciences.

According to Sanchez, who presented at the 2011 Florida Association of Equine Practitioner’s Annual Promoting Excellence in the Southeast Convention, held Sept. 29-Oct. 2 in Amelia Island, Fla., "Studies need to be conducted to test new analgesic drugs that could prove to be effective in horses, or to test new combinations of currently available drugs. To do this, reliable pain models are needed