A Review of Methods for Detecting Soreness in Horses (2021) / Chapter Skim
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2 Methods Used to Identify Soreness in Walking Horses
2 Methods Used to Identify Soreness in Walking Horses
Pages 21-45
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From page 21... ...
2 Methods Used to Identify Soreness in Walking Horses This chapter focuses on the currently available methods to detect soreness in horses, some of which are currently employed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Service (APHIS) to determine compliance with the Horse Protection Act (HPA)
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A Review of Methods for Detecting Soreness in Horses An inspection consisting of gait observation and palpation takes approximately 2‐3 minutes per horse. If reinspection or additional procedures are done, the process takes longer. A horse that is found to be sore in either front leg2 (unilateral soreness) or on both front legs (bilateral soreness)
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Methods Used to Identify Soreness in Walking Horses violation) and, on behalf of the show manager, to disqualify the horse from showing. Documentation of the DQP inspection process (which may or may not include video recording)
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A Review of Methods for Detecting Soreness in Horses Horse inspected by DQP on behalf of HIO hired by show manager Horse is allowed No HPA HPA violation(s)
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Methods Used to Identify Soreness in Walking Horses Inspection Process When There Are Two VMOs Present The process when there are two VMOs present, which may also involve a DQP, if present (Figure 2‐3) , is similar to the process when there is a DQP and one VMO present (Figure 2‐1b)
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A Review of Methods for Detecting Soreness in Horses Horse inspected by VMO #1 No HPA HPA violation(s)
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Methods Used to Identify Soreness in Walking Horses perform duties related to AWA. However, in recent years horse inspections for HPA enforcement have reverted to being conducted mostly by Animal Care VMOs who are not necessarily equine veterinarians (the primary duty of these VMOs is to inspect for AWA violations; they inspect horses for compliance with Horse Protection Regulations if their schedule permits) . At the time of hiring and yearly thereafter, inter‐ mittent VMOs and Animal Care VMOs who inspect horses are required to undergo training in Horse Pro‐ tection Regulations, performance of horse inspections, and how to recognize violations of the HPA. Designated Qualified Persons DQPs obtain their licenses after completion of training provided by HIOs. To train DQPs, HIOs must first obtain certification from USDA for their DQP programs. According to 9 C.F.R. § 11.7 of the Horse Protection Regulations, individuals may qualify as DQPs if (1)
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A Review of Methods for Detecting Soreness in Horses year DQP performance is evaluated by VMOs at selected shows and events.5 If the DQP's performance at a show is found to be unsatisfactory, APHIS sends a warning letter to the HIO that granted license to the DQP. According to Horse Protection Regulations §11.7 (f) "Each horse industry organization or association having a DQP program certified by the Department shall issue a written warning to any DQP whom it has licensed who violates the rules, regulations, by‐laws, or standards of conduct promulgated by such horse industry organization or association pursuant to this section, who fails to follow the procedures set forth in §11.21 of this part, or who otherwise carries out his duties and responsibilities in a less than satisfactory manner, and shall cancel the license of any DQP after a second violation." Any DQP whose license has been cancelled is permanently barred from being a DQP (A. Rhyner, APHIS, personal communication, April 9, 2020)
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Methods Used to Identify Soreness in Walking Horses In 9 C.F.R. § 11.21 of the Horse Protection Regulations, the following instructions are provided for the DQPs: (a)
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A Review of Methods for Detecting Soreness in Horses BOX 2‐1 International Federation for Equestrian Sports Limb Sensitivity Testing Procedure The limb sensitivity testing procedure is performed by a team of highly trained and experienced equine veterinarians with a strict system of checks and balances to avoid any misinterpretation of results and conflicts of interest. The horse's front limbs are first imaged by thermography by veterinarian 1, then palpated by veterinarian 2. Any horse that is questionable or deemed hypersensitive will be palpated again by veterinarian 1; all palpating is recorded and videoed carefully. Both veterinarians and a member of the ground jury must agree that the horse is sensitive, prior to informing the horse custodian of their findings. (The principal duty of the ground jury is the technical judging of all competitions and the determination of their final results; it is responsible for solving all the problems that could arise during its jurisdiction perioda) . Once a determination of sensitivity has been made, the custodian can choose to withdraw the horse from the competition with no further consequences. If the custodian elects not to withdraw, the veterinary delegate is informed and reviews the video footage and possibly palpates the horse prior to making a final decision. All veterinarians and the ground jury must agree that the horse shows altered sensitivity, although they do not have to agree on precisely where the horse is sensitive; such agreement results in a disqualification and the initiation of a welfare case. The custodian of a horse that is disqualified has no recourse and can be subject to serious penalties depending on what is found as the cause for hypersensitivity (C. Roberts, FEI, Cambridge University, personal communication, February 18, 2020)
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Methods Used to Identify Soreness in Walking Horses BOX 2‐2 Continued The amount of digital pressure to apply while palpating the forelimbs is not specified for DQPs. Videos of DQP inspections show a large variation in the technique they use to examine the forelimbs from the carpus to the fetlock -- from an absent to a very cursory palpation of limited areas at the palmar surface of the distal limb, with minimal attention given to the dorsal surface of the limb. Some DQPs in the videos from the SHOW HIO appear to have an extremely firm grip on the horse's leg between the carpus and fetlock, which may inhibit the responses of the limb to palpation. The process of palpating the limbs and checking for other HPA violations by a DQP is quite fast -- palpation usually takes less than a minute per limb. During this examination the DQP is looking for signs of pain indi‐ cated by the horse withdrawing or moving the limb three consecutive times at a site of palpation. The DQP also looks for signs of inflammation (loss of hair, redness of skin, edema of the skin, loss of skin integrity) and chronic skin changes indicative of previous skin injury. Some DQPs palpated horses' limbs without ever looking at them. Based on the committee's examination of U.S. Department of Agriculture training materials and the DQP inspection videos provided by a horse industry organization, it is apparent that many DQPs do not inspect horses according to Horse Protection Regulations and as taught in the annual training sessions provided by the Animal and Plant Health Service. The committee's general observation from the videos is that palpation techniques of DQPs vary greatly from one individual to another. DQPs were observed conducting the physical examinations quickly and in a manner that is not sufficient to detect if a horse is sore, while others were observed gripping the leg too tight, which may inhibit responses to limb palpation. Because DQPs are not performing examinations properly, it is possible that some horses experiencing soreness are not identified during inspections. One way to improve the observation of a horse's movement in this test would be to expand the figure‐8 pattern to consist of two adjoining circles, each with a 10‐foot radius (as shown above)
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A Review of Methods for Detecting Soreness in Horses inverted U until you reach the right heel bulb. Then smaller concentric inverted U patterns would be used. Then the center of the posterior pastern would be palpated until reaching the area between the heel bulbs. The anterior pastern would then be palpated in left to right rows starting at the cor‐ onary band until reaching the fetlock. All this should be done in 1.5‐2.5 minutes in a compliant horse. (APHIS Animal Care, 2018, p. 1‐3) VMOs attend only a very small number of TWH shows compared with DQPs (estimated to be 6 per‐ cent of shows attended by DQPs)
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Methods Used to Identify Soreness in Walking Horses Finding 2‐1: At shows covered by the Horse Protection Act (HPA) , horse inspections are performed by a designated qualified person (DQP)
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A Review of Methods for Detecting Soreness in Horses Conclusion 2‐3: During inspection, ideally a horse should walk around the cones in a figure‐8 pattern. Expanding the figure‐8 pattern to consist of two adjoining circles, each with a 10‐foot radius, would allow for better observation of horse movement. The required straight‐line evaluation could be done as the horse is walking to the top of the first circle and then back from the figure 8. Conclusion 2‐4: Prescriptive protocols, if not followed strictly by a VMO, may allow for a possible objection to a VMO's finding by the horse custodian. Moreover, the required inspection by a second VMO may cast doubt on the ability of VMOs to detect pain or other abnormalities and may negatively affect the VMO's ability to make appropriate judgments. Conclusion 2‐5: The basis of all examinations for pain and lameness is observation and palpation, which are an integral part of determining whether pain is altering gait in a TWH. The strict requirements of fol‐ lowing a specified pattern and using only the pad of the thumb with no more pressure than it takes to blanch the thumbnail limit the ability of palpation to detect the presence of limb sensitivity. The require‐ ment that two VMOs must make exactly the same findings (i.e., sensitive on the lateral pastern but not bulbs of heels or medial pastern) does not consider changes that may occur over time between examina‐ tions, how the horse may respond to repeated palpation, or how the presence of foreign substances either parenterally or topically may influence findings over time. Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry to Detect Prohibited Substances that Mask Soreness At events covered by the HPA, horses presented at the inspection area must not have any prohibited substances on their limbs. Lubricants (glycerol, petrolatum, and mineral oil)
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Methods Used to Identify Soreness in Walking Horses down to the picogram level (1 picogram is 0.000000000001 gram) (Hersh, 2010)
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A Review of Methods for Detecting Soreness in Horses METHODS FOR DETECTING SORENESS NOT CURRENTLY USED IN HORSE INSPECTIONS FOR HPA ENFORCEMENT Thermography (Thermal Imaging) Thermography is a noncontacting, noninvasive method of detecting heat emitted from the body or from a part of the body and representing the heat as a pictorial display, called a thermogram. This method involves the use of an infrared camera. Thermography measures infrared radiation emitted from a body (or a particular body part)
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Methods Used to Identify Soreness in Walking Horses Thermography can help locate an area that is inflamed, but it does not characterize the etiology of inflammation. It is commonly used in equine medicine (in conjunction with other diagnostic methods) to help with the proper diagnosis and treatment of back injuries and lameness (Turner, 1999, 2015)
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A Review of Methods for Detecting Soreness in Horses with the equipment being less expensive, more durable, and easier to use. The standard operating proce‐ dure for thermography10 was as follows: Thermography screening inspections were to be used to screen horses prior to palpations by DQPs or VMOs. The screening would consist of three images of the limb from the carpus (knee) distally; front (dorsal)
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Methods Used to Identify Soreness in Walking Horses comparing compliant and noncompliant horses. The USDA Horse Protection regional or national coordi‐ nator requests VMOs who may attend competitions and exhibits to work with veterinary consultants to include digital radiography in the inspection process when needed. The procedure requires digital radiog‐ raphy equipment (plate and x‐ray generator) , safety lead gowns and gloves, and a computer with imaging analysis software and the ability to calibrate images. Four radiographic images are made, two of each front foot. The images should include a horizontal dorsal palmar and a lateral‐to‐medial projection of each front foot with the x‐ray beam centered on the shoe (APHIS Animal Care, 2018)
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A Review of Methods for Detecting Soreness in Horses FIGURE 2‐7 Radiographs of illegal substances inside hoof packages: of a Chadwick spring (left, encircled) , which con‐ stitutes an illegal substance between sole and pad; (right)
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Methods Used to Identify Soreness in Walking Horses FIGURE 2‐9 Radiographs of (left) a lateral view of an illegal metal pad and a legal weight on the sole of the package and (right)
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A Review of Methods for Detecting Soreness in Horses 2019) . Topically applied pain blocking chemicals (e.g., lidocaine or benzocaine)
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Methods Used to Identify Soreness in Walking Horses Recommendation 2‐3: APHIS should adhere to the Horse Protection Regulation 9 C.F.R. § 11.4 (h)
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A Review of Methods for Detecting Soreness in Horses Echelmeyer, J., P. M. Taylor, K. Hopster, K. Rohn, J. Delarocque, and S. B. R. Kästner. 2019. Effect of fentanyl on thermal and mechanical nociceptive thresholds in horses and estimation of anti‐nociceptive plasma concen‐ tration. Veterinary Journal 249:82–88. FEI (International Federation for Equestrian Sports) . n.d. Limb sensitivity. https://inside.fei.org/fei/your‐role/veteri narians/welfare/limb‐sensitivity (accessed May 28, 2020)
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Methods Used to Identify Soreness in Walking Horses Turner, T. A. 1999. The use of thermography in lameness evaluation. https://thehorse.com/14540/the‐use‐of‐therm ography‐in‐lameness‐evaluation/ (accessed May 19, 2020) . Turner, T. A. 2011. Thermography. In G. M. Baxter (ed.)
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