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Home / Equine Research Bank / Animals (Basel) / Application of a Ridden Horse Pain Ethogram and Its Relation...
Animals : an open access journal from MDPI2020; 10(6); doi: 10.3390/ani10061044

Application of a Ridden Horse Pain Ethogram and Its Relationship with Gait in a Convenience Sample of 60 Riding Horses.

Abstract: A Ridden Horse Pain Ethogram (RHpE) comprising 24 behaviours has been developed to facilitate the identification of musculoskeletal pain. The aim was to further test the RHpE by its application to a convenience sample (n = 60) of sports horses and riding school horses in regular work and assumed by their owners to be working comfortably. All horses performed a purpose-designed dressage-type test of 8.5 min duration in walk, trot and canter, with their normal rider. The RHpE was applied retrospectively to video recordings acquired in a standardised fashion. Seventy-three percent of horses were lame (≤ grade 2/8) on one or more limbs; 47% had gait abnormalities in canter. Ridden Horse Pain Ethogram scores ranged from 3 to 16/24 (median 9); rider skill score ranged from 2.5 to 8/10 (median 4.75). The effect of horse age, breed, sex, work-discipline, epaxial muscle hypertonicity or pain, an ill-fitting saddle, rider skill score, the presence of lameness or gait abnormalities in canter on the RHpE score was assessed using Poisson regression. Two variables were retained in the final multivariable analysis, rider skill score as a continuous variable (p < 0.001), and lameness (p = 0.008). A RHpE score ≥8 was a good indicator of the presence of musculoskeletal pain.
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Publication Date: 2020-06-17 PubMed ID: 32560486PubMed Central: PMC7341225DOI: 10.3390/ani10061044Google Scholar: Lookup
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Summary

This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.

The research investigated the use of a Ridden Horse Pain Ethogram (RHpE) to detect musculoskeletal pain in riding and sports horses. The study found that 73% of horses evaluated were found to have some degree of lameness, and a score of 8 or higher on the RHpE is a good indication of musculoskeletal pain.

Introduction

  • The study centered on evaluating the effectiveness of a 24-item Ridden Horse Pain Ethogram (RHpE) for detecting musculoskeletal pain in riding and sports horses.
  • These horses were considered by their owners to be comfortably performing their regular work.

Methods

  • Horses in the study were subjected to an 8.5-minute test mimicking dressage movements, ridden by their usual riders.
  • This test was conducted at walk, trot, and canter paces.
  • All performances were video recorded for retrospective analysis using the RHpE.
  • Aspects considered in the regression analysis included horse age, breed, sex, work-discipline, epaxial muscle hypertonicity or pain, ill-fitting saddles, rider skill score, as well as the presence of lameness or gait abnormalities in canter.

Results

  • With RHpE scoring ranging from 3 to 16 out of 24, the results revealed that 73% of the horses were lame on one or more limbs, amounting to a grade 2/8 or lesser.
  • Significant linkages were found between higher RHpE scores and lower rider skill scores as well as the presence of lameness.
  • The findings also showed that 47% of horses had gait abnormalities during the canter.

Conclusion

  • This study validated the use of the Ridden Horse Pain Ethogram as a reliable tool to identify musculoskeletal discomfort in ridden horses.
  • An RHpE score of 8 or more was a good indicator of the presence of musculoskeletal pain.

Cite This Article

APA
Dyson S, Pollard D. (2020). Application of a Ridden Horse Pain Ethogram and Its Relationship with Gait in a Convenience Sample of 60 Riding Horses. Animals (Basel), 10(6). https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10061044

Publication

Animals : an open access journal from MDPI
ISSN: 2076-2615
NlmUniqueID: 101635614
Country: Switzerland
Language: English
Volume: 10
Issue: 6

Researcher Affiliations

Dyson, Sue
  • Independent consultant, The Cottage, Church Road, Market Weston, Diss IP22 2NX, UK.
Pollard, Danica
  • Epidemiology and Disease Surveillance Department, Centre for Preventive Medicine, Animal Health Trust, Newmarket, Suffolk CB8 7UU, UK.

Grant Funding

  • not applicable / World Horse Welfare

Conflict of Interest Statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Citations

This article has been cited 13 times.
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