Musculoskeletal pain is associated to inflammatory conditions of the locomotive system and is very frequent in horses. Osteoarthritis is even the most common reason for retirement of equine athletes from competition. NSAIDs are the most prescribed drugs in the practice in order to treat these conditions and the associated pain. However the majority are not appropriate for long-term application, mainly because of the gastrointestinal ulcers they provoke through inhibition of the COX-1. These side effects are attenuated when preferential COX-2 inhibitors are employed and prevented if more modern selective COX-2 inhibitors are used. The current NSAIDs approved in horses in Germany are discussed in details in this review article.
pain - analgesia - musculoskeletal - NSAID - COX‐2
