Knowing how comfortable horses move is key for equine welfare

A study focusing on the way sound, comfortable horses move and behave may help recognition of what should be normal, and benefit equine welfare.

Sue Dyson and Danica Pollard’s research, which has been published in Animals, used the ridden horse pain ethogram (RHpE), developed by Dr Dyson and collaborators. The RHpE comprises 24 behaviours, including tail swishing and an open mouth, the presence of eight or more of which indicates that the horse has musculoskeletal pain, even if it is not overtly lame.

Dr Dyson, who has used the RHpE in a number of studies, applied it in this case to 1,358 horses in competition, in dressage up to elite grand prix level, in British Eventing classes up to novice and five-star three-day events.

The researchers assessed all horses’ soundness; those who were non-lame usually had ears erect or forward, an engaged eye expression without white showing, no head tilt, mouth shut, no sight of the tongue and the bit positioned symmetrically. The horses moved on two tracks and responded willingly to cues, without repeatedly swishing the tail.

“We wanted to show that equestrianism, well done, can mean comfortable horses, and this is how we know that,” Dr Dyson told H&H. “With all the conversations about social licence, we wanted to demonstrate that a significant proportion of horses are comfortable, that these are the behaviours they show, and what we should be looking for in every horse.”

Dr Dyson added that in the main, the upper-level competition horses were more likely to be sound and comfortable than those at the lower levels, and that lameness recognition must improve across the board. Another issue noted was a high frequency of horses’ heads behind the vertical in the dressage horses, and the fact that some behaviours such as mouth opening and tail swishing – did not seem to be marked down by judges.

“The ultimate aim of riding and training a horse is the development of a harmonious relationship between horse and rider, with the horse responding to barely perceptible cues, willingly and without excessive tension, moving freely forwards with good-quality paces, without undue restriction from a rider,” Dr Dyson said.

“This harmonious picture was largely observed in the non-lame horses. Increased awareness of what a pain-free horse should look like, based on the results of this study, may improve equine welfare and performance, and rider comfort, confidence and safety, and improve training practices.”

Dr Dyson also said being able to identify comfortable horses is helpful when buying them, and for trainers to determine whether an issue is caused by training or discomfort.

World Horse Welfare CEO Roly Owers told H&H: “When considering welfare, it is as important to focus on what is right as what is wrong. So this latest study is a very welcome contribution as it seeks to outline how to identify what a sound, comfortable horse looks like when being ridden. The absence of certain behaviours could tell us just as much about how a horse is feeling as their presence.

“The increasing focus on what constitutes a good life for a horse highlights the importance of building a far better evidence base around whether horses are content or even enjoy their participation in sport. We have recently seen an encouraging increase in the number of studies that focus on certain aspects of welfare from a veterinary, physiological and ethological angle.

“However, research into equine behaviour is still in its infancy and we all need to prioritise more research and practical guidance in this key area.”

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