Normally, if we’re looking to see if a horse is lame, we watch him in hand and on the lunge. Sometimes, however, lameness only becomes apparent when the horse is ridden. 57 horses, all in regular work and all assumed by their riders to be sound, underwent a lameness assessment. They were assessed in hand in a straight line, including flexion tests, on the lunge on a soft surface and a hard surface, and ridden. Lameness was graded on a scale of 0 to 8. Around a quarter of the horses were sound throughout. 6 were sound on everything except flexion tests. Almost a quarter were lame in hand. Around 40% were lame on the lunge on a soft surface, and around 40% were lame on the lunge on a hard surface. Almost half the horses were lame when they were ridden, with 7 of these being lame only when they were ridden. That’s 7 out of 57 horses, 12% of horses in regular work, whose lameness could only be seen in their ridden work. It’s so important that a lameness assessment includes ridden work if appropriate, especially if there’s no lameness apparent in hand, on the lunge, or on flexion tests.
Dyson, Sue & Greve, Line. (2016). Subjective Gait Assessment of 57 Sports Horses in Normal Work: A Comparison of the Response to Flexion Tests, Movement in Hand, on the Lunge, and Ridden. Journal of Equine Veterinary Science. 38. 10.1016/j.jevs.2015.12.012.
You can access the full paper here.
Historically, lameness has been evaluated in hand or on the lunge, but some lamenesses may only be apparent ridden. The objectives were to compare the response to flexion tests, movement in hand, on the lunge, and ridden in sports horses in regular work, assumed to be sound by the owners. It was hypothesized that lameness may be apparent in ridden horses that was not detectable in hand or on the lunge. Fifty-seven sports horses in regular work and assumed to be sound were assessed prospectively in hand, on the lunge on both soft and firm surfaces, and ridden. Flexion tests of all four limbs were performed. Lameness was graded (0–8) under each circumstance in which the horse was examined and after each flexion test. Fourteen horses (24.6%) were sound under all circumstances. Six horses were sound in hand, on the lunge, and ridden but showed a grade 1 or 2 lameness after flexion of a single limb. Sixteen horses (26.3%) were lame in hand. Twenty-four horses (42.1%) showed lameness on the lunge on a soft surface, and 23 horses (40.4%) were lame on the lunge on a firm surface. Twenty-seven horses (47.4%) showed lameness ridden; seven (12.3%) were only lame ridden. There was no significant association between age (P 1⁄4 .09) or work discipline (P 1⁄4 .1) and lameness. It was concluded that freedom from lameness in straight lines is not a reliable indicator of soundness. Some lamenesses are only apparent ridden.
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 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
