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- Title
Determination of Equine Behaviour in Subjectively Non-Lame Ridden Sports Horses and Comparison with Lame Sports Horses Evaluated at Competitions.
- Authors
Dyson, Sue; Pollard, Danica
- Abstract
Simple Summary: The Ridden Horse Pain Ethogram (RHpE) comprising 24 behaviours was developed to facilitate the identification of musculoskeletal pain. A RHpE score ≥8/24 indicates the likely presence of musculoskeletal pain. The RHpE was applied to 1358 horses in competition, with a comparison of behaviours in lame and non-lame horses. In a large majority of the non-lame horses, the head was still, the front of the head was in a vertical position or behind the vertical, the eyes were open with no exposure of the sclera, all of the tongue remained within the oral cavity, the bit was symmetrically positioned, and the tail was held straight and carried freely. Horses maintained a regular rhythm and speed in all paces, moving straight on two tracks. Non-lame horses initiated canter with the correct leading forelimb and did not change legs in front or behind; there were no spontaneous changes of gait, no repeated forelimb or hindlimb stumbling, and an absence of bilateral hindlimb toe drag. Horses followed the direction of the rider's cues, with no spooking, and went forward willingly, with an absence of bucking or rearing. Recognition of how a non-lame horse usually behaves may enhance equine welfare and improve training practices. The Ridden Horse Pain Ethogram (RHpE) was developed to facilitate the identification of musculoskeletal pain. The aim of the current study was to collate behavioural data using the RHpE from horses at competitions assumed by their owners and/or riders to be fit for competition. The objectives were to quantify the frequency of occurrence of behaviours in pain-free horses and those with lameness or abnormalities of canter and to determine any differences between disciplines and levels of competition. The RHpE was applied to 1358 horses competing in Grand Prix (GP) dressage (n = 211), 5* three-day events (TDE) (n = 137), or low-level one-day events (ODE) (n = 1010). The median RHpE score for all horses was 4 (interquartile range [IQR] 2, 5; range 0, 12) and the median lameness grade was 0 (IQR 0, 1; range 0, 4). The Kruskal–Wallis test, followed by Dunn's test for pairwise comparisons, found a difference in median RHpE scores between low-level ODE and GP dressage (p = 0.001), but not between 5* TDE and low-level ODE (p = 0.09) or between GP dressage and 5* TDE (p = 1.00). The median RHpE score was highest for low-level ODE. The Chi-square/Fisher's exact test identified a significant difference in prevalence of most of the 24 behaviours of the RHpE in non-lame compared with lame horses. Recognition of the behaviours of non-lame horses may improve equine welfare and performance, and rider comfort, confidence, and safety.
- Subjects
COMPETITION horses; HORSE sports; HORSE paces, gaits, etc.; LAMENESS in horses; MUSCULOSKELETAL pain; SCLERA; HINDLIMB
- Publication
Animals (2076-2615), 2024, Vol 14, Issue 12, p1831
- ISSN
2076-2615
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.3390/ani14121831