Horses do vary in their pain thresholds, or how they tolerate pain. Like a person, a horse might feel pain without demonstrating evidence of it. Humans and animals can suppress pain by affecting nerve fibers. Rubbing or scratching an area near an injury can lessen pain. Released from the pituitary gland during exertion or other stress, these hormones reduce the sensation of pain.
Pain experienced by the equine athlete can be acute or reflect chronic inflammatory tissue injury.
The chronic pain of laminitis continues to concern horse owners. Here the suffering horse confronts owners and veterinarians with tough decisions about how to provide a level of comfort. Ketoprofen had not been evaluated in horses with laminitis. This study of seven laminitic animals assessed each horse's lameness on a five-level scale. Within each grade, examiners added a plus or minus to note the severity of the score.