DefinitelyDressage.com

https://youtu.be/hrZgtrqbMVI

I thought I would share this. The video is a little bit dramatic but I think the research is good and honestly makes a lot of sense.
Basically they found if a horse has eight or more of the 24 behaviors then it's safe to assume the horse has some pain and discomfort going on.

I don't think any of this is earth-shattering for many here although out in the real world I do think they're are people that miss or dismiss behaviors like this.

I watched it from the link on TOB. I will have to rewatch it and write down the 24 behaviors...so I can watch for them. For me, it is pretty easy to know (like you) when something just is not right. Finding a vet that will take the time and believe is sometimes another story.

I had a mare that I started without so much as a tail swish. By the time she was 6, she was balking, kicking out at the leg and just generally miserable.
It took me about 3 months to realize it was cyclical . I took her to the vet and had a repro exam and they found nothing amiss except multiple follicles on one ovary...at least that is what it looked like. That was late August and I had hurt my back and was not able to ride. I let her sit until late December and we checked her again expecting it to be back to anestrus size. Hmmm, left ovary was still at least 3x as big as it should be. During the fall, her poor pasture mate was savaged by her a couple times...luckily, there was a fence between them. She was pissed and it was all his fault. I wanted her spayed and the vet said...we don't do that (this was like 30 years ago before endoscopes). He referred us to another local vet hospital with surgery capabilities and that vet agreed to do it but was mumbling about "these women and their horses' female problems"...something to that effect. He did the surgery and she had a solid tumor on the left ovary which made it like lemon sized. It wasn't a hormone producing tumor but I am sure when she was forming follicles on the non diseased part of the ovary, due to the mass she hurt like hell.

Granted, that wasn't a lameness but my trainer at the time and the clinician he worked with just chalked it up to her being a pissy little mare
I started this horse and never had any issues like this. Something had to be wrong and it was. The behavior was totally due to pain. The spay surgery worked. She was guarded and tried kicking out about 3 times after she went back to work until she figured out...oh, I don't hurt anymore.

Susan

Susan, here is a list (if it works.) I had a similar experience with a mare I rode. But the owner also claimed it was fine or from prior experiences. But I saw first hand an uncomfortable change in the mare. I suspect it was something similar to what you described. Good for you for getting your horse taken care of! I know most here would, but still thought it worth a share.

Ridden Horse Pain Ethogram, adapted from Dyson et al. 2018 [5]. Assessments were made in walk, trot and canter and on the left and right reins. A total behaviour score of ≥8 (out of 24) is likely to indicate the presence of musculoskeletal pain (Dyson et al. 2018 [5,6]). s = seconds.

1. Repeated changes of head position (up/down), not in rhythm with the trot
2. Head tilted or tilting repeatedly
3. Head in front of vertical (>30°) for ≥10 s
4. Head behind vertical (>10°) for ≥10 s
5. Head position changes regularly, tossed or twisted from side to side, corrected constantly
6. Ears rotated back behind vertical or flat (both or one only) ≥5 s; repeatedly lay flat
7. Eye lids closed or half closed for 2–5 s; frequent blinking
8. Sclera exposed repeatedly
9. Intense stare (glazed expression, ‘zoned out’) for ≥5 s
10. Mouth opening ± shutting repeatedly with separation of teeth, for ≥10 s
11. Tongue exposed, protruding or hanging out, and/or moving in and out repeatedly
12. Bit pulled through the mouth on one side (left or right), repeatedly
13. Tail clamped tightly to middle or held to one side
14. Tail swishing large movements: repeatedly up and down/side to side/circular; repeatedly during transitions
15. A rushed gait (frequency of trot steps > 40/15 s); irregular rhythm in trot or canter; repeated changes of speed in trot or canter
16. Gait too slow (frequency of trot steps < 35/15 s); passage-like trot
17. Hindlimbs do not follow tracks of forelimbs but repeatedly deviated to left or right; on three tracks in trot or canter
18. Canter repeated leg changes in front and/or behind; repeated strike off on wrong leg; disunited
19. Spontaneous changes of gait (e.g., breaks from canter to trot, or trot to canter)
20. Stumbles or trips more than once; repeated bilateral hindlimb toe drag
21. Sudden change of direction, against rider’s direction; spooking
22. Reluctance to move forwards (has to be kicked ± verbal encouragement), stops spontaneously
23. Rearing (both forelimbs off the ground)
24. Bucking or kicking backwards (one or both hindlimbs)

Thank you .

LSP - I haven't watched the video, but thanks for the list of 24!! It's interesting. I've always worried a bit about my difficult youngster (tendency to buck when first girthed up, and occasionally disunites at canter), but actually, he only meets number 18, and 24. I'll try to watch the video at some point. Thanks again!!

The video is useless at actually listing the behaviors unless you pause and squint. Thanks for actually posting them

Yeah I was trying to pause the video to get them but it was so impossible. The video is a bit sensationalist as well although I understand why (get people's attention.) Although for myself and I think many here I would prefer to just read the study. It is available and it is pretty interesting.