GALLOP

Gait, Activity and Locomotion Links to Osteoarthritic Pain

Purpose of the Study

GALLOP

To identify reliable methods to recognize chronic pain in both horses and humans. We will accomplish this by investigating methods to detect the presence of pain in horses through behavioral and physiological responses to movement and physical stimuli.

From left to right: Samantha Brooks, Ph.D., Yenisel Cruz-Almeida, MSPH, Ph.D., Kyle D. Allen, Ph.D.,  and Adam Biedrzycki, BVSc, Ph.D.

Who is Eligible?

Ideal candidates would be owners of horses with fetlock OA housed in the Central Florida area. We will also be recruiting healthy horses who do not experience OA pain as controls, ideally who live with a horse diagnosed with fetlock OA.

What will Happen if I Participate?

  • There is no risk nor medical benefit to volunteers. All data/samples collected will be assigned a lab ID and remain confidential. Participants will be advised to continue seeking advice from their veterinarians. We will identify and select suitable participants through completion of a Qualtrics questionnaire.
    • What we will ask of participants:
      • Completion of owner assessment surveys
      • Host visits to their farm for data collection
        • Estimated ~3 hours
        • Overnight observations with cameras set up in stall
        • 1 visit/week (excluding week 4)
        • 4 consecutive weeks
        • Follow-up re-evaluations at one and two years later

“Whether we are looking at an equine patient or a human patient, we’re always striving to do a better job of safely relieving pain and discomfort, and if existing models of pain aren’t working, then it’s time we look at new strategies like getting a little help from our local horse population.”

Samantha Brooks, Ph.D.

Contact Information

Feel free to contact our team at UF-GALLOP@ufl.edu

Research Team

Principal Investigators: Dr. Samantha Brooks, Dr. Kyle Allen, Dr. Adam Biedrzycki, Dr. Yenisel Cruz-Almeida

Study Coordinator: Barclay Powell