Читать книгу Complications in Equine Surgery - Группа авторов - Страница 23

Surgical procedures will lead to a pain response. It is well supported that the more invasive a procedure is, the more pain the patient will experience. Horses are typically stoic animals when it comes to exhibiting pain. It is thought that they mask signs of pain from predators, including humans, to minimize possible predation [86]. In one study, it was determined that horses undergoing surgery paid decreased attention toward novel objects and decreased responsiveness to auditory signals [87]. The relationship between pain, behavioral distress and physiological stress is complex and difficult to determine. Consequently, endocrine measures may not be accurate indicators of pain alone. It is also difficult to separate the inflammatory process associated with surgery and surgical complications from the pain response associated with surgery and surgical complications. The measurement of equine pain is probably best accomplished with multidimensional pain scales [88]. The Horse Grimace Scale has been recently described and is easy to use and has a high reliability between observers [89].