Equine Nerve Pain

According to "Horse Owner's Veterinary Handbook," your horse's nervous system comprises of the brain, spine and attaching nerves. There are many things that can go wrong with your horse's nervous system, which can result in nerve pain. This can cripple your horse, since nerve pain will make her unable to wear a harness or saddle.

  1. Causes

    • Causes of nerve pain in horses include damage from ill-fitting tack putting constant pressure on a nerve; injury even as mild as a bruise or cut; genetic problems; poisoning or as a bad side effect from a serious infection. "Horse Owner's Veterinary Handbook" also notes that injecting medications around a nerve can sometimes lead to nerve pain.

    Symptoms

    • Symptoms of nerve pain in horses depend on the severity of the pain and where the pain is located. In any case, your horse will start acting peculiarly. For example, according to the UK's University of Lincoln, a horse with damage to the trigeminal nerve in its head may constantly shake its head when wearing a halter or bridle and may suddenly avoid letting a trusted person touch its head.

    Diagnosis

    • Once your veterinarian knows your horse's medical history, when she was last wormed, what current medications she is on and if the symptoms started suddenly or gradually, he will perform a nerve block--an anesthetic injection in the nerve thought to be the one causing pain. If your horse returns to acting normally, then that proves she has some kind of nerve damage. Other tests may be performed to rule out lethal conditions such as tetanus or rabies, which can produce symptoms similar to nerve damage.

    Common Types

    • "Shoulder sweeny" is when the nerves in a horse's shoulder have been damaged. If left untreated, the shoulder muscles waste away. Stringhalt is when a horse lifts its legs up in a strange halting manner, almost as if it has suddenly become a marionette. This is damage to its leg nerves from eating toxic plants such as dandelions.

    Treatment

    • Treatment of equine nerve pain depends on what the cause was and how badly the horse is damaged. Drugs of choice include lotions that deliver nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs through the skin and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). Your horse will need stall rest. Check all tack touching the affected area to see if should be replaced. Severed nerves need to be surgically repaired. Recovery can take months, because horse nerves grow only one inch a month.