CVS Equine launches data-driven initiative to enhance pain assessment in hospitalised horses

CVS Equine introduces a new analgesia project aimed at improving the objectivity of pain evaluation in hospitalised horses, reflecting a broader shift towards data-led welfare monitoring in veterinary medicine.

CVS Equine has launched an analgesia project designed to sharpen the way clinicians assess pain in hospitalised horses, reflecting a wider push in equine medicine towards more objective welfare monitoring. The initiative centres on improving how staff recognise discomfort and judge whether treatment is working, rather than relying solely on observation and experience.

The move sits neatly alongside recent research efforts in the field. A study in Animals compiled an ethogram of 73 behaviours linked to physical discomfort, offering a practical guide to recognising subtle signs of pain. More recent work has examined time budgets and weight shifting in hospitalised horses as possible markers of pain intensity, with researchers suggesting that video analysis could help underpin future AI-based assessment tools.

Other published reviews have highlighted the growing use of composite pain scores and facial-expression-based scales, both of which aim to make pain evaluation more consistent. Studies have also explored post-operative pain assessment and the use of caudal epidural catheterisation for pain control, underlining both the promise of these approaches and the need for careful monitoring.

Taken together, the evidence points towards a more data-led approach to equine analgesia, with potential benefits for clinical decision-making, drug evaluation and, most importantly, animal welfare.