I was lucky to spend a whole day in Denmark getting knowledge with home to my horses and students. Sue Dyson is a recognized vet in the United States and the woman behind the research around the 24 behaviors of the ridden horse in musculoskeletal pain. A total ridden Horse Pain Ethogram score of 8 or more indicates the presence of musculoskeletal pain.
I have listed the markers below of the ridden horse in pain
Facial markers
1. Ears back more than 2-5 seconds
2. Eyes Closed more than 2-5 seconds
3. White of the eye (some horses are born with that and shows white all the time)
4. Intense stare more than 5 seconds
5. Mouth open and closed
6. Tongue out
7. Bit pulled through
Body markers
8. Head up and down
9. Head tilt
10. Above vertical more than 10 seconds
11. Behind vertical more than 10 seconds
12. Head side to side
13. Tail Position
14. Tail swishing
Gait Markers
15. Rushed gaits
16. Slowed gaits
17. Moving on 3 tracks
18. Canter dysfunction
19. Spontaneous change of pace
20. Stumble, trip, toe drag
21. Changing direction
22. Resistant
23. Rearing
24. Bucking
Press the markings and I link you to Sue Dysons youtube videos
Thank you to MB horses for hosting the event. We met at 8 on a Saturday morning. 2.5 hours away from my location; FYN.
We started with breakfast and a presentation of Sue Dyson.
- Protect the future of our horses
- Improve equine performance and welfare
- Gain (Social License to operate) trust back in public
Sue presented her thoughts on her many years of research on sports horses.
Too many riders have been riding around for too long on horses that are in some kind of pain. It has become the norm.
Head behind vertical
Sue also touched on the subject Head behind vertical. There is a high frequency of occurrence of head behind the vertical which likely reflect training/or musculoskeletal pain.
Dressage Judges should be more honest
We need a culture change where judges should be more honest in what they see in the ring.
I suggest VARsystem in the ring
In my opinion we should have a harmony grade in dressage. We should use VARsystem in the ring so the judges can go back and see episodes in slow motion.
I suggest video camera on ALL warm ups
In the warm up ring we should provide video cameras so there will be no discussing of episodes between riders and stewards or judges. Many competitions already have video camera up on the warm up.
The worksheet of the 8 of the 24 conflict behaviors
Conflict behavior is seen when the horse shows 8 of the 24 conflict behaviors. Sue concludes this from the fact that when they anesthetize the horses which has conflict behavior over 8 markers, some of these horses, if not all, conflict markers disappear. It indicates that the horse is in some kind of pain.
We must become better at seeing musculoskeletal pain and here we can use the 24 conflict markers from Sue Dysons research.
The examination at the clinic
We went to the riding hall, where we saw a 10-year-old dressage horse. We saw 2 jumping horses, 1 Icelandic horse and 2 carriage horses. Sue examinated and watched the horses by hand and longed in the riding hall. In the end she watched the horses being saddled and ridden in all gaits.
Only the horses for the carriage only trotted. Sue was very thorough with every single horse. She informed the participants of what she saw. The participants could ask questions along the way. Sue mentioned the importance of fitting the saddle and bridle as well as other equipment as an important part of the horse being comfortable with the rider.
Can we achieve a harmonious ride between horse and rider?
Sue thinks we can if we avoid the horse being in musculoskeletal pain. We cannot achieve a harmonious ride with musculoskeletal pain. We must get better at detecting conflict behavior and find out why the horse does what it does
She also pointed out that conflict behavior can occur if the horse is afraid of something in an unexpected situation or does not understand the rider’s signals, which does not necessarily mean the horse is in musculoskeletal pain. Open mouth and whipping of the tail are conflict markers that should not occur for more than a few seconds. For example, it is ok to react to a fly or a signal given incorrectly by the rider. It does not have to mean that the horse in that split second has prolonged musculoskeletal pain somewhere on the body. Likewise, a slightly open mouth for a split second does not necessarily mean pain for the horse.
Watch the video below!
Take time and watch the documentary film below by Dr. Sue Dyson and Kathryn Lauritzen; a touching documentary about the bond between horses and human. The documentary tells about the conflict behavior of the horse and the association with us humans. There is a star-studded cast from riders, trainers, judges, scientists, veterinarians and other paraprofessionels in the horse industrie.
What can we do to be better in the horsesport?
- Start with evidence-based information. Spread Knowledge
- Sell the good news and spread it
- Identify the major problems and ask why are they there.
- Educate riders, trainers, judges, rule markers and rule enforces
Thank you to MB horses and team Joan Sartori for making this lecture possible. Thank you for sharing knowledge. I am humble and thankful that I can get knowledge and talk about it with other passionated horsepeople.
Only through knowledge we will be better with our horses
