Evaluation method for identification of tail blocking in horses

Abstract

This study aims to standardize the clinical and complementary examination using surface electromyography (EMG) to assess the neuromuscular function of the equine tail. Firstly, clinical examinations of the tails and EMG measurements were performed on ten healthy animals without any tail interference or manipulation. This initial experiment aimed to establish a baseline for clinical examination and EMG results. The animals underwent tail nerve plexus blockade in the second experiment using an anesthetic agent. The objective compares the clinical examination and EMG findings between the anesthetized and non-manipulated tails. Finally, two animals were used in the third experiment, where peripheral infiltration of the tail nerve plexuses was performed using a neurolytic agent. The study successfully obtained a pattern for the clinical examination of a healthy equine tail and established a pattern for the clinical examination of a tail after infiltration with anesthetic and neurolytic agents. Significant differences were observed in the clinical examination before and after the application of local anesthesia, as well as in the EMG values before and after local infiltration with anesthetic (P=0.04) and neurolytic agent (P=0.03). The presented study introduces a clinical examination protocol that utilizes surface electromyography as a diagnostic tool for cauda equina block.