Preoperativ analgetisk behandling med vedaprofen vid kastration av unghingst
utvärdering av pre- och postoperativt beteende
Pain related behaviour in 1.5 year old colts was studied both prior to and following castration. The horses were filmed 24 h prior to surgery and 24 h postoperatively. Parameters, inactive and active behaviours, were recorded in terms of cumulative time observed. Both groups of horses were exercised three times and the gait quality was evaluated. Few differences were observed between the groups. The only significantly different behaviour was ?time spent drinking?. The placebo group showed this behaviour more postoperatively versus preoperatively. There was a tendency for the behaviour ?nose? to be significantly increased in the vedaprofentreated group. All horses treated with vedprofen and one of the horses in the placebogroup showed specific behaviour postoperatively. These behaviours were not observed preoperatively. The most interesting thing however, was that the observer, blinded for the treatment, grouped the horses correctly but placed them in the wrong treatment category. The main result of this study is that it is difficult to evaluate postoperative pain in horses. Possibly the animals without additional analgesics attempted to hide pain. Horses are animals of prey and those showing pain are the most probable to be eaten by carnivores.