Eye temperature and heart rate variability of calves disbudded with or without local anaesthetic
The possibility that pain can be detected from changes in eye temperature and heart rate variability (HRV) during disbudding was examined in thirty calves, randomly assigned to four treatments: 1) sham handling (control), 2) local anaesthetic (LA, cornual nerve injection) and sham disbudded, 3) sham LA and disbudded, 4) LA and disbudded. During a 40 […]
Exploring non-invasive methods to assess pain in sheep
The aim of this study was to determine whether changes in eye temperature, measured using infrared thermography (IRT), and heart rate variability (HRV) can detect moderate levels of pain in sheep. Six ewes received the following treatments: 1) noxious ischaemic stimulus by application of a forelimb tourniquet (S), 2) noxious ischaemic stimulus and flunixin meglumine […]
Infrared thermography as a non-invasive method for detecting fear-related responses of cattle to handling procedures
Two experiments were conducted to determine whether maximum eye temperature, measured using infrared thermography (IRT), could be a non-invasive technique for detecting responses of cattle to handling procedures. Experiment one used six crossbred heifers randomly assigned to two groups in a crossover design and subjected to i) being hit with a plastic tube on the […]
Genetic study of stress assessed with infrared thermography during dressage competitions in the Pura Raza Español horse
Despite the fact that physiological parameters in dressage are important because of their close connection to human–horse accidents, performance and welfare, these parameters are only rarely included in horse breeding programs. In Spain, the Pura Raza Español horse (PRE) Breeding Program focuses mainly on the selection of horses for satisfactory dressage ability. Studying the genetic […]