Animal Scientists have finally developed a Facial Grimace Scale to tell how much pain a horse is in. They have kept the scale simple and since it relates only to the head it is easy to use.
- Stiffly backward ears
- Orbital (eye) tightening all around
- Tension above the eye area
- Strained chewing muscles
- Facial Muscles strained
- Pronounced chin
This can be used by ANYONE to determine IF your horse is in pain. The more pain a horse is in determines how high the score is.
Just because your horse doesn’t exhibit all of these signs does not mean there is no pain. It only means that there is not enough pain to affect more areas of the horse’s face. It’s the I have a headache that is:
- Just behind my eye
- All around the eye/sinus pain
- Starts at the back of my head and goes to my face
- A full blown migraine
You would grade each of these differently from low (1) to high (4). The intensity of the headache will determine how you look. From slightly pinched eyes, to furrowed brow, to a grimace.
The picture below shows how it these facial traits are applied to a horse. 0 is no pain effect; 1 is moderate pain; 2 is obvious pain shown.
Using this scale, look at your horse and evaluate their current pain state.
- If any one item is graded as a 2 then it is time to get with a professional to evaluate your horse.
- If the total is 4 or more it is time to get with a professional to evaluate your horse.
- If the total is 2-3 it is time to look at what is going on and find the cause. You can most likely do this without a professional.
Photo from BVM Equine Grimace Pain Scale.
Hands Healing Horses 