Facial expressions during compound interventions of nociception, conspecific isolation, and sedation in horses.

ABSTRACT: Facial expressions in prey animals such as equines can convey information regarding their internal state and are therefore often used as cues for welfare and pain evaluation. The state of pain is commonly compared to a neutral state with little consideration given to other experiences that could affect the animal, although this situation is rare outside of experimental contexts. To evaluate the effect of managerial contexts on facial expressions from a nociceptive input, conspecific isolation and sedation with known physiological effects were compared to compound states of nociception. Using an anatomically based facial action coding system and a short acting pain model, patterns of facial activity could discriminate between horses experiencing conspecific isolation, sedation, and a nocice

SUBMITTER: Lundblad J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11825850 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature