“Eventers that show the least signs of musculoskeletal discomfort are most likely to be highly placed, a study has found.”

I was delighted to read a report in the Horse and Hound online newsletter yesterday on the application of the Ridden Horse Pain Ethogram to grassroots eventing. You can read the article here.

You may already know that Dr Sue Dyson and I are co-authoring a book on recognising pain in the ridden horse, which covers the development and use of the Ridden Horse Pain Ethogram in detail. We will discuss several of the studies that have got us to this point. Equestrian organisations and individuals from across the different professions are contributing, including researchers, farriery, saddlery, dentistry, physiotherapy, osteopathy, chiropractic, nutrition, coaching, riding, training, and much more. As in Brain, Pain or Training, we are really excited to be sharing a wide range of viewpoints.

If you’re interested in assessing your own horse using the Ridden Horse Pain Ethogram, I wrote a blog a while ago describing how. Why not give it a go, and let me know how you get on?

© Sue Palmer, The Horse Physio 2021

Treating your horse with care, connection, curiosity and compassion