Using a previously developed list of facial expressions in the ridden horse (facial expression ethogram), a researcher studied 519 photographs of lame and non-lame horses. The photos included some horses before and after nerve blocks (i.e. lame, and then sound / non-lame). Pain scores were higher for lame than for non-lame horses, and therefore it seems that lameness can be recognised in the horse’s face using this ethogram. The most obvious behaviours / expressions that indicated pain were: “Severely ‘above the bit’, twisting the head, asymmetrical position of the bit, ear position (both ears backwards, one ear backwards and one to the side, one ear backwards and one ear forwards) and eye features (exposure of the sclera, the eye partially or completely closed, muscle tension caudal to the eye, an intense stare)”.
Dyson, S., Berger, J., Ellis, A., Mullard, J. (2017) Can the presence of musculoskeletal pain be determined from the facial expressions of ridden horses (FEReq)? J. Vet. Behav.: Clin. Appl. Res. 19,78-89
You can access this article here.
Poor performance in horses is often attributed to rider or training problems or behavioural abnormalities. Riders often fail to recognise lameness. We need to determine if there are differences in facial expression in lame and non-lame horses when ridden, which may facilitate the identification of horses experiencing pain. A previously developed facial expression for ridden horses ethogram (FEReq) was applied blindly by a trained analyst to photographs (n=519) of the head and neck of lame (n=76) and non-lame (n=25) horses acquired during ridden schooling-type work at both trot and canter. These included images of seven lame horses acquired before (n=30 photographs) and after diagnostic analgesia had abolished lameness (n=22 photographs). A pain score (0-3; 0=normal, 1-3=abnormal) was applied to each feature in the ethogram, based on published descriptions of pain in horses. Pain scores were higher for lame horses than non-lame horses (p<0.001). Total pain score (p<0.05), total head position score (p<0.01), and total ear score (p<0.01) were reduced in lame horses after abolition of lameness. Severely ‘above the bit’, twisting the head, asymmetrical position of the bit, ear position (both ears backwards, one ear backwards and one to the side, one ear backwards and one ear forwards) and eye features (exposure of the sclera, the eye partially or completely closed, muscle tension caudal to the eye, an intense stare) were the best indicators of pain. Application of the FEReq ethogram and pain score could differentiate between lame and non-lame horses. Assessment of facial expression could potentially improve recognition of pain-related gait abnormalities in ridden horses.
Dr Sue Dyson and I are in the process of writing a book for horse owners and riders on how to understand and use the Ridden Horse Pain Ethogram with your own horse. The book will be published by J A Allen, and available sometime In 2023. Sign up to my newsletter at www.thehorsephysio.co.uk for updates.
In the meantime, you will find my blog on how to use the RHpE with your own horse here. You can learn more about the Ridden Horse Pain Ethogram through listening to Dr Sue Dyson explaining here it on the Equine Veterinary Education, where you can also listen to her discussing many of the other studies that she has been involved in. You can also take an online course with Equitopia.
© Sue Palmer, The Horse Physio 2021
Treating your horse with care, connection, curiosity and compassion
