Transdermal Application of Anesthetic Preparations Is Effective in Increasing Mechanical Nociceptive Threshold at Perineural Injection Sites in Horses

•Transdermal anaesthetic preparation applied at perineural injection sites of the distal limb resulted in the rise of the mechanical nociceptive threshold needed to provoke a detectable behavioural reaction in horses•Application of two different anesthetic skin preparations did not affect skin sensitivity distal to the site of application.•Transdermal anaesthetic preparations may have the potential to be used to lower the prevalence of professional risks for veterinarians during lameness examination when executing diagnostic analgesia