Equine Behaviour in Relation to Pain and Lameness
Sunday 9th November 2025 @ 14:00 HRS GMT
Equine Behaviour in Relation to Pain and Lameness
This session brings together four researchers from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), who have conducted a series of high-quality studies on behaviour and pain. They have taken a scientific approach to understanding equine behaviour in relation to pain and lameness. The discussion will enhance our understanding of how experimentally validated behavioural indicators can be used to guide and improve decision-making.
Animal Pain Concepts: Where Are We Today, and What Will the Future Bring with Pia Haubro Andersen –
How do we measure and understand animal pain — and how do we talk about it? As the focus shifts from physiological markers to behavioural signs, new challenges arise in interpreting what animals’ behaviour truly tells us about their pain.
What Information Can Be Conveyed Through the Facial Muscles? with Johan Lundblad
This session delves deeper into the neurophysiology of the facial muscles and looks into which physiological states and attentive distractions affect our recognition of pain. We will also look into what happens in the face when physiological stress or fatigue/sedation occurs in combination with pain.
Understanding Orthopaedic Pain in Horses: What to Look For and How to Assess It with Katrina Ask
This session focuses on subtle behavioural indicators that can help detect orthopaedic pain in horses. We will discuss methods for assessing pain and the advantages and limitations of different pain scales.
Movement Asymmetries vs. Lameness: Which Horses Are in Pain? with Marie Rhodin
This session will focus on the reasons for movement asymmetries. Are all horses with movement asymmetries in pain, or are there other causes? How can we detect pain in ridden horses?
For all attendees, CPD certificates are available, as well as a “view only” recording of the webinar with a year access pass. There will also be a Q and A session with ample opportunity to post questions via our interactive Q&A panel.
Professor Pia Haubro Andersen
Professor Pia Haubro Andersen is an authority in veterinary clinical science and animal welfare. Her research has pioneered the objective assessment of pain and lameness in horses and cattle through the development of validated pain scales, movement asymmetry analysis, and AI-based recognition of pain-related behaviors and facial expressions. These advances are changing diagnostic practice, improving welfare monitoring, and bridging veterinary medicine with data-driven technologies.
Marie Rhodin
Marie Rhodin, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACVSMR, Dipl. ECVSMR, is Professor of Veterinary Anatomy at the Department of Animal Biosciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. She is an internationally recognized authority in equine biomechanics and lameness, integrating clinical expertise with advanced motion analysis. Her work has significantly advanced the objective assessment of asymmetry, orthopaedic pain, and gait adaptations in horses and other large animals, with broad implications for animal health, welfare, and performance.
Katrina Ask
Katrina Ask is a researcher and university lecturer at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU). After earning her veterinary degree from the University of Copenhagen in 2012, she spent several years working in large animal practice and as an equine veterinary surgeon, before completing her PhD in 2023 on behaviours and facial expressions associated with equine orthopaedic pain. Her ongoing research primarily focus on behaviours and facial expressions linked to orthopaedic pain. Katrina further utilizes advanced objective gait analysis to study movement patterns during lameness and explore the relationship between pain and movement asymmetry.
Johan Lundblad
Johan Lundblad, DVM, lecturer at the Department of Animal Biosciences, SLU. He graduated 2018 and earned his PhD in 2024, focusing on the effect of stress and sedation on pain evaluation through facial expressions. His has conducted research within pain research, objective motion analysis in horses and equine behaviours. Currently, he's responsible for projects regarding implementing objective pain evaluation in the clinic and developing objective methods to interpret facial expressions in field conditions.
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