Sharing the Science 2 - The Horse Physio - Sue Palmer

Category: Sharing the Science

20.2.2022: The Ridden Horse Pain Ethogram – Research and Development

By Sue Palmer on February 20, 2022

Why does your saddle slip? The interrelationship of lameness, saddle slip and back shape in the general sports horse population The saddle slipping to one side is usually blamed on the saddle fit, or sometimes on the rider or on the shape of the horse. This study, involving 506 sports horses, looked at how often […]

15.2.2022: The Ridden Horse Pain Ethogram – Research and Development

By Sue Palmer on February 15, 2022

Developing the RHpE Development of an ethogram for a pain scoring system in ridden horses and its application to determine the presence of musculoskeletal pain Despite evidence that nearly half of competition horses are perhaps lame, this lameness is not well recognised by owners or trainers. Another way of recognising pain in the ridden horse […]

2.2.2022 Sharing The Science: The Horse-Rider Relationship

By Sue Palmer on February 2, 2022

Symbiosis or Sporting Tool? Competition and the Horse-Rider Relationship in Elite Equestrian Sports by Rachel C. Hogg and Gene A. Hodgins Is the horse-rider relationship essential to success, irrelevant to success, or does it negatively impact on success? Is success determined by how the rider sees success, or by how others see success? As you […]

22.1.2022 Sharing the Science

By Sue Palmer on January 22, 2022

Thoracolumbar movement in sound horses trotting in straight lines in hand and on the lunge and the relationship with hind limb symmetry or asymmetry It’s fascinating how much we just take for granted that we know, without actually having any evidence to back it up. If we want to do scientific studies on lameness, then […]

12.1.2022 Application of the Ridden Horse Pain Ethogram to Elite Dressage Horses Competing in World Cup Grand Prix Competitions

By Sue Palmer on January 12, 2022

I’m really excited to be researching and writing my next book this year, on recognising pain in the ridden horse. Sign up to my newsletter at www.thehorsephysio.co.uk for updates on the release. Today’s science article makes use of the Ridden Horse Pain Ethogram (RHpE) to assess dressage horses competing at elite Grand Prix level. The […]

2.1.2022 How good are we at seeing back movement in horses?

By Sue Palmer on January 2, 2022

Sharing the Science Rater agreement for assessment of equine back mobility at walk and trot compared to quantitative gait analysis Have you ever heard someone tell you that your horse needs to move more through his back, or that he looks stiff through his back? If you’re a rider, then I’m fairly sure the answer […]

22.12.2021 Sharing The Science

By Sue Palmer on December 22, 2021

Effect of gamified perceptual learning on visual detection and discrimination skills in equine gait assessment Starke SD, Miles GC, Channon SB, May SA. Effect of gamified perceptual learning on visual detection and discrimination skills in equine gait assessment. Vet Rec. 2021;e21. https://doi.org/10.1002/vetr.21 I listened recently to a webinar presented by Eva Marunova (Empowered Equitation) on […]

12.11.2021 Sharing The Science

By Sue Palmer on December 12, 2021

Towards Machine Recognition of Facial Expressions of Pain in Horses You can access the full article here. Today I was chatting with a client about whether or not her horse might suffer from some level of hind guy dysfunction. The mare is on Succeed (a supplement which helps ease some types of hind gut dysfunction), […]

2.11.2021 Sharing The Science

By Sue Palmer on December 2, 2021

Enhanced Understanding of Horse-Human Interactions to Optimize Welfare How does your horse see the world? How does he see you? Does he know how you feel? This scientific review looks at how horses read humans, with a view to helping us understand how we can make our horses’ lives better. Simple Summary Horses are used […]

What Do Horse Owners Really Think About Supplements?

By Sue Palmer on November 28, 2021

A fascinating study looked into the supplements used by dressage and eventing horse owners, and their reasons for using them. Through an online survey shared via British Eventing and Dressage websites, researchers gathered insights from 599 owners—441 dressage and 158 eventing. Owners had an average of 26 years of riding experience and typically used two supplements for their highest-performing horse. The reasons? In dressage, the focus was on joint mobility and behaviour, while eventers prioritised electrolytes and joint support. The key challenges identified were revealing. For dressage, energy/behaviour, lameness, and back or muscle issues topped the list. In eventing, stamina and fitness were the biggest concerns, followed by lameness and behaviour. Interestingly, there was a mismatch between the issues owners highlighted and their choice of supplements. While lameness was a major worry in both disciplines, it wasn’t always addressed with their supplement choices. This study highlights the need for a deeper understanding of how supplements align with specific health and performance concerns. It’s a reminder to all of us in the equestrian world to consider not just what we give our horses, but why—and whether it’s truly addressing their needs.

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