GAINESVILLE, FL (352today.com) – University of Florida researchers are looking to collaborate with horse owners on a study about arthritis pain.

UF/IFAS, the UF College of Veterinary Medicine, the UF College of Dentistry and the UF biomedical engineering department are searching for horses that can participate in a field study focused on osteoarthritis, a key cause of swelling, heat and pain in joints. Just like in people, arthritis in horses commonly results from frequent, repetitive high-impact stress on the joint, such as from activities like racing and jumping – and early intervention is critical.

The researchers have designed a non-invasive screening process for horses to create a more comprehensive, objective method to measure joint pain, said Samantha Brooks, UF/IFAS associate professor of equine physiology and genetics.

A young woman guides a horse on a lead rope through a sandy arena during a training session at a University of Florida equine facility.
A woman leads a horse through an obstacle course in a fenced training area at a University of Florida equine research facility.
A UF/IFAS animal sciences student taking a horse through an equine weanling course. Courtesy: Tyler Jones, UF/IFAS

If a method can be developed for horses – patients who inherently cannot talk about their pain – then a similar approach will hopefully work for people who have joint pain, rather than relying on the current, subjective pain scales, she said.

“We tend to treat symptomatically when horses show obvious clinical signs of pain, but if we can get a detect subtle joint pain sooner, we might be able to start pain treatments in time to better preserve joint function, and tailor that treatment for each horse,” Brooks said. “And our horses undergo a lot of the same joint diseases that we have. Any tools that we can build to better understand the discomfort caused by arthritis in horses gives us a better understanding of arthritis pain in people.”

The researchers are looking to work with horse owners whose horses are in Central Florida and have already been diagnosed with osteoarthritis, especially if it affects the fetlock joint.

For more information, please contact meredithbauer@ufl.edu.

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