08/09/2026
🐴 EQUUS EVIDENCE | Is your horse being naughty — or trying to tell you something?
Changes in behaviour under saddle are often put down to attitude, temperament or training. But sometimes they are an early sign of musculoskeletal pain.
Dr Sue Dyson’s Ridden Horse Pain Ethogram (RHpE) identifies 24 specific behaviours associated with musculoskeletal discomfort during ridden exercise. These include repeated tail swishing, ears held back, head tossing, mouth opening, stumbling, reluctance to go forward, spontaneous gait changes, abnormal canter, bucking and rearing.
When 8 or more of the 24 behaviours are observed, musculoskeletal pain should be strongly suspected — although importantly, some painful horses score lower.
🔬 A recent study from Sue Dyson has added another interesting piece to the puzzle.
Twenty-five sport horses underwent pre-purchase examinations that included ridden assessment and application of the RHpE, and their subsequent competition records were followed for 3.5–4 years.
✅ All eight horses assessed as a reasonable purchase risk had RHpE scores of 4/24 or less.
✅ Excluding one horse lost to an unrelated fracture, 6 of 7 recommended horses continued competing at the same or a higher level.
⚠️ Among the 17 horses considered a higher purchase risk, only one continued regular competition without a substantial interruption.
Perhaps most importantly, ridden assessment identified lameness, canter dysfunction and pain-related behaviours that were not necessarily apparent during examination in-hand or on the lunge.
🩺 Dr Dan’s take
A horse does not have to be obviously lame to have a musculoskeletal problem.
Subtle changes in behaviour, rideability, willingness to go forward, canter quality or performance can be early warning signs. They shouldn’t automatically be dismissed as attitude, temperament or a training issue.
The RHpE is particularly useful because it gives us a structured way to recognise these patterns earlier — but it still needs to be interpreted alongside the horse’s gait, clinical examination and overall performance.
If several of these signs look familiar in your horse, get in touch to discuss whether a veterinary assessment may be worthwhile.
Reference:
Dyson S. An Investigation of the Role of Ridden Exercise, Including Application of the Ridden Horse Pain Ethogram, in Pre-Purchase Examinations of Sports Horses. Animals. 2026;16(13):2105. doi:10.3390/ani16132105.
