How can you tell when a horse is in pain

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cellie

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Several of you have been so supportive and helpful with my problems with Ollie.He has had numerous injuries but this last one has left me with a big decision to make.
In brief Ollie has remedial shoes and gel pads for coffin joint soft tissue injury.Although the vet has told me to start trot work Im not going to because I feel hes not comfortable.Lame in the school on one rein with bad hoof on outside vet says sound in straight line .
My dilemma
Hes not doing anything in the paddock just mooching about.Never pings about either but then hes grown up plus we moved yards maybe depressed.
Showed a preference for soft ground when hacking .Wanted to trot then looked for softer ground and not obviously lame.Hacking on roads for 8 weeks in walk maybe has made it worse.
Hes very demotivated and bored due to long periods of rehab but cant vary routine.When vet came he was so eager to do something other than hack that he looked fab in school but this isnt the norm.
How can I actually tell if hes in pain without him being lame.
When I was hacking he had some good moments when he strode out then others when he just plodded around shorter stride and no head carriage.
Surely my vet would have said he s suffering ,I know vets want to repair injuries but this is going on forever.Ultimately I want to stop suffering.I have farrier tomorrow and will grill him and take pads out to see if theres a difference. I could buy some butex to see f hes more comfortable in field but dont want to mask a problem.
Dont want to make wrong decision if hes demotivated but I need some tips as Im losing my way .
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I know what you mean, I am in a similar position.

I think as long as mine is bright in himself and is able to move about without being too stiff, then he is fine. The minute he loses his spark then I will call it a day. Although saying that, he was very listless about 4 months ago and off his food (unheard of), in the midst of multiple injuries and turned out he had a nasty virus (one leg was slightly puffy but because it was the injured leg it was identified). He was much brighter after antibiotics but it took months for him to really perk up.

Have you given him something just for a little boost? I give mine a course of restore coming out of winter, just before worming and it definitely improves them.

It may just be that he is a little bored with the work but it is so hard to know and to make the right decision.
 
I think horses can get very stressed with a yard move. I would be tempted to do the same work with and without painkiller to see if there is a difference.

If he is bored why not loose school or play with him in the arena?

Lastly a student at the Dick Vet, Edinburgh did a study of pain in horses. She was looking at post-op pain but it might be worth ringing them, they are very helpful.
 
He lost his companion last sept a well, she was a pony we had on loan that went home.Your comments just made me think of this.
 
Sometimes they are just quieter but this could also be due to missing his friend or the new yard.
If he looks for soft ground and is unwilling to go forward I think he might be uncomfortable.
Why not try without the bute as suggested and see what happens - only for a few days not indefinitely obviously.
The other option would be to increase his bute and see what this does.
My daughters horse always gets more "bolshey" and "in charge" when he is out of pain and is more "obedient" and doesn't spook and mess around so much when he is uncomfortable. Only when he is in really bad pain does he "playup" and this is different to just being on his toes and typical TB if you see what I mean.
I think you know your horse and I would follow my instincts if I were you. You have come a long way with him and probably if you think he is in pain then he is.
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Hes not on pain relief of any kind.Tried danilon couple of days didnt seem to make huge difference not sure how long you need to take it before it helps.
 
It usually works within a couple of days. If he is a big horse you might need to start at 2 a day for 2 days then try 1 a day for 3 or 4 days to really get an idea. That is what our vet suggests.
I think the idea of phoning the vet school for information is a really good one. At the end of the day though having been through this I would say again that if you think your horse is not comfy then he probably isn't.
Someone told me recently (god knows who!) that horses do not show pain as it is a sign of weakness and makes them stand out from the herd to predators - sounded sensible to me but I don't know if this is true. It would explain a lot though.
 
Absolutely true they mask it thats my concern its a sign of weakness to predators.Why cant they be like dogs and hold a paw up and whine.I will look into other suggestion anything to help him.Might be able to cope with two days a week rather than 5/6 that vet told me to ride him.Who knows Im going in circles trying to help him and I know you have been there twice
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I know it's sh1t isn't it
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LOL about dogs - mine points to the painful area with her nose or holds it out for me to see - much more helpful
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Keep your chin up and I hope things come right for you.
 
Hi there. Im new to this forum but would you mind if I put my two pennith in? If you look in a horses eyes you can see if its in pain - the eye may be slightly sunken or may have wrinkles and/or be pointed at the top. Do hope this helps.
 
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