As a rider to top national level in both show jumping and eventing, as a trainer and as an equine orthopaedic specialist Dr Dyson has, over many years, repeatedly observed behavioural adaptations to lameness. Such adaptations were seen in ridden horses and improved, but were not necessarily completely abolished, by the resolution of lameness by diagnostic analgesia. These experiences were the inspiration for her substantial work on the behavioural signs of pain, which includes an ethogram for facial expressions in ridden horses as a first step toward assessing pain other than through obvious gait changes.
“I was fed up with seeing horses, often a long time after behavioural signs may have indicated something wasn’t quite right,” explains Dr Dyson. “Owners would say ‘he’s always been a grumpy horse’, ‘he’s never been a willing horse’, ‘he’s never wanted to stand to be mounted’ and so on. So many vets are missing a trick by not seeing horses ridden as part of a lameness investigation – despite the fact that most owners have horses in order to ride them. These things get missed at pre-purchase examinations too. Early recognition is nearly always advantageous for a better prognosis.”
The videos are being extremely well received around the globe, having clocked up almost 100,000 views already.
“I do understand why owners may want to bury their heads in the sand and not recognise that their horse has a problem but it is just so important from a welfare perspective,” said Dr Dyson. “Horses should be happy and it is our obligation not to exploit them. Quite simply, a pain-free horse will perform so much better. These videos should help riders, owners, trainers and vets understand what the horse is actually trying to say. We owe it to them to listen.”
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