ridden horse pain ethogram 2 - The Horse Physio - Sue Palmer

Tag: ridden horse pain ethogram

What is the role of close spinous processes, so-called ‘kissing spines’ in horses? A guest blog by Dr Sue Dyson

By Sue Palmer on December 13, 2022

There are many misconceptions in the equine world, one of which surrounds horses that behave normally in hand and on the lunge but perform sub-optimally when ridden or behave ‘badly’ – and sometimes get labelled as naughty horses. If thought is given that an underlying cause may be pain, there is often an assumption that because this behaviour is only seen when ridden and since the change is a rider sitting on the horse’s back it must reflect primary back pain.

Is bucking a sign of pain in horses?

By Sue Palmer on August 8, 2022

Have you ever sat on a horse that has bucked? Have you ever been bucked off? I bet there are not many riders this hasn’t happened to at some point! I’ve been riding since I was three years old and know I’ve come off many times. Some of them were pure accidents, some of them pure stupidity, and many of them, no doubt, a misunderstanding of what my horse was trying to tell me. I heard a description that resonated with me when I was listening to Horse and Hound podcast number 130. Dr Gemma Pearson discussed the difference between an N-shaped buck and a U-shaped buck. She said, and I agree with her, that an N-shaped back is invariably pain-related, whereas there can be a variety of reasons for a U-shaped buck.

Understanding and Using the Ridden Horse Pain Ethogram

By Sue Palmer on May 9, 2022

The Ridden Horse Pain Ethogram (RHpE) is a list of 24 behaviours, the majority of which are ten or more times likely to be seen in a horse with musculoskeletal pain. Studies have shown that a horse who shows 8 or more of the 24 behaviours listed in the ridden horse pain ethogram is likely to have musculoskeletal pain.

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