Reading the signs
Owners have to learn how their horses are trying to communicate with them in order to understand the correct principles of training and the importance of firm, disciplined handling without the use of coercion or force. This can be challenging with a young horse who, for example, may lunge happily to the left, but keep turning in on the circle on the right rein. Is this an error of communication, or could it reflect an underlying problem?
It’s easier to consider that pain is the cause of a behaviour if a horse was once compliant and forward going, but has now become less willing and more resistant. Such a change in behaviour is invariably the result of pain. When teaching a horse a new movement, such as the half-pass, he might struggle initially because he has to learn what’s required, train his muscles to coordinate the movement and have sufficient strength to perform it. With practice he should improve. If he fails to show any improvement, this generally means that he is uncomfortable in some way. He may not show lameness in-hand or on the lunge, but this doesn’t mean he is pain-free when ridden in specific, biomechanically demanding movements.
Hanging on the rein
If rein tension starts to increase on one side — the horse ‘hangs on the rein’ — it’s easy to blame the rider for being one-sided. This may manifest itself as the bit being pulled through to one side of the mouth — another of the 24 behaviours in the Ridden Horse Ethogram. Obviously it’s important to check the fit of the bit and eliminate any obvious causes, such as ulceration because of sharp teeth, but asymmetrical rein tension is often a manifestation of hindlimb lameness, and if lameness is abolished using nerve blocks the horse immediately takes a more even contact. In response to pain, horses may also reduce rein tension in both reins, so that the rider has no contact. This is often achieved by putting the front of the head behind a vertical position. If asked to perform a demanding movement, this tendency to go ‘behind the bit’ may be accentuated. Other horses adapt their way of going by changing their balance and, when they don’t bring the hindleg sufficiently under their body, they drop onto their forehand. As a result, the horse may become heavier in the rider’s hands, with symmetrically increased rein tension.