Page 611 - The Veterinary Care of the Horse

shortened muscles can lead to degenerative changes within the joint, leading to

osteoarthritis; this in turn leads to more pain, further muscle shortening and thus the
VetBooks.ir vicious cycle is perpetuated.

THE ‘BUTE’ TEST

A feature of this type of pain is that it may not respond to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory
drugs including phenylbutazone (bute). Unfortunately this leads people to mistakenly believe
that the horse is not experiencing pain and it is forced to carry on working without treatment.

HOW DOES ACUPUNCTURE AFFECT MYOFASCIAL TRIGGER POINTS?

When a needle penetrates a trigger point, the muscle will often contract and then relax and
lengthen almost immediately. Sometimes the needle is ‘grasped’ by the muscle and the

relaxation and lengthening take place over a period of 20–30 minutes. It may be hastened by
twirling the needle. As soon as the trigger point is released, the pain and tenderness disappear

and the blood supply to the muscle improves immediately.

HORSES, STRESS AND CHRONIC PAIN

We tend to keep horses stabled for many hours of the day and so prevent expression of their

natural behaviour and grazing patterns. Stress and anxiety can lead to the development of
chronic pain in the horse. When a horse becomes anxious, the body tone is increased and this
can cause the muscle groups to become tense and shortened, leading to myofascial pain. It is

important not to underestimate the stress that can be caused by stabling, isolation, rehoming,
transport and competition schedules.

Acupuncture examination and point selection

Examination of a horse to be treated with acupuncture is no different from any other
veterinary examination, apart from including a careful palpation of the whole horse. The

selection of points to be treated is determined following a full clinical examination. With a
horse suffering from musculoskeletal pain, this will include assessment of the horse in hand,

on the lunge and where appropriate, under saddle. It is important not only to identify the
problem area but also to ask why it developed and to deal with the causes.

The routine veterinary tools used in establishing a diagnosis may include:

• clinical examination including flexion tests
• nerve blocks

• radiography