EQUINE VETERINARY EDUCATION / AE / july 2022
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a)
b)
c)
d)
Fig 4: a) Spooking. b) Rearing, intense stare. c) Front of head ≥30° in front of vertical position in left canter; ears back, tail swishing. d) Front of head slightly behind vertical position but <10°, therefore does not fulfil RHpE criteria; mouth open with separation of the teeth. Croup high in left canter.
by their owners to be working comfortably (Dyson and Pollard 2020). The horses comprised Riding School horses, those used for General Purposes (including unaffiliated competition), Show Jumping, Eventing and Dressage, and performed the same purpose-designed dressage test. The RHpE was applied retrospectively to video recordings acquired in a standardised fashion. Overall, 73% of horses were lame (≤grade 2/8) on one or more limbs and 47% had gait abnormalities in canter. Ridden Horse Pain Ethogram scores ranged from 3–16/24 (median 9). The effect of breed, sex, horse age, work-discipline, epaxial muscle hypertonicity or pain (assessed by an equine physiotherapist), an ill-fitting saddle (evaluated by a Society of Master Saddlers Qualified Saddle Fitter), rider skill score (determined by a British Horse Society Instructor), and the presence of lameness or gait abnormalities in canter (assessed by an experienced equine clinician) on the RHpE score was assessed using Poisson regression. Two variables were retained in the final multivariable analysis, lameness (P = 0.008) and rider skill score as a continuous variable (P<0.001). A RHpE score ≥8/24 was again a good indicator of the presence of musculoskeletal pain.
In an additional study comprising a convenience sample
of sports and leisure horses, gait in hand and when ridden were evaluated independently, by two veterinarians, and compared (Dyson et al. 2022a). Movement of the saddle during ridden exercise and rider position, balance and size relative to the saddle were documented by a British Horse Society Instructor. Ridden Horse Pain Ethogram scores were determined by a skilled assessor based on evaluation of video recordings. Multivariable Poisson regression analysis was used to determine factors which influenced the RHpE scores. Of 148 horses, 28% were lame in hand, whereas 62% were lame ridden. Sixty percent of horses showed gait abnormalities in canter. The median RHpE score was 8/24 (interquartile range 5, 9; range 0, 15). There was a significant positive association between lameness and the RHpE score. Riding School horses had higher RHpE scores compared with General Purpose horses. Saddles with tight tree points and riders seated at the back of the saddle rather than the middle were significantly associated with higher RHpE scores. Overall, gait and RHpE data from 491 horses have been assessed and documented. These comprised non-lame
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