Mechanical nociceptive thresholds in endurance horses

BackgroundAlteration of limb sensitivity is forbidden in equine sports but difficult to enforce. We aimed to develop an objective field method to assess mechanical nociceptive threshold (MNT) in endurance horses.MethodsA remotely controlled pneumatic actuator (1 mm tip) was used to measure forelimb pastern MNT in 108 endurance horses.ResultsMedian (IQR) MNT at rest was 1.9 N (0.9–3.5). Icing had no significant effect on limb sensitivity. MNT measured at weekly intervals increased from week 1 (1.2 N (0.6–1.8)) to week 3 (1.9 N (1.2–2.8)) (P25)) than in horses without impaired sensitivity (42 limbs—2.2 N (1.2–4.3)) (P