Sharing the Science - The Horse Physio - Sue Palmer

Category: Sharing the Science

How to understand what your horse is telling you

By Sue Palmer on February 21, 2023

I know that I will look back in ten years, and wish I knew now what I will know then about how horses communicate. Even when we do our best to understand what our horse is telling us, I suspect we could know more.

5.7.2022 “..Obesity Leads To Behavioural Indicators Of Pain..”

By Sue Palmer on July 5, 2022

Diet-induced obesity leads to behavioral indicators of pain preceding structural joint damage in wild-type mice I spend a lot of time explaining to horse owners that fat horses are more likely to be in pain. The excess weight puts excess strain through their joints. If those joints already have arthritic changes going on, then the […]

2.6.2022 Is Bigger Better?

By Sue Palmer on June 2, 2022

One of the most difficult aspects of horsemanship is sorting through what’s truth and what’s myth. You know that you should follow the science where possible, and where appropriate, but how do you know whether the science is any good? There are good studies and there are bad studies. Here’s an article, part of a […]

12.5.2022 Treating Equine Gastric Glandular Disease

By Sue Palmer on May 12, 2022

Sharing The Science A few weeks ago I visited a client whose horse had been diagnosed multiple times with gastric ulcers. Several times over the past few years he has been scoped, treated, and re-scoped clear, only for the ulcers to return a few weeks or months later. Thankfully the owner can recognise the symptoms. […]

22.3.2022 Sharing The Science: The 2020 Five Domains Model

By Sue Palmer on March 22, 2022

The 2020 Five Domains Model: Including Human–Animal Interactions in Assessments of Animal Welfare This is a really interesting review paper looking at the positive and negative effects of various things on the health and well being of animals. The study divides the assessment of animal welfare (not just equine) into five domains: nutrition, physical environment, […]

12.3.2022 Sharing the Science: How Happy Are Equine Athletes?

By Sue Palmer on March 12, 2022

The thoughts of focus groups on the welfare of the competition horse “The international governing body for equestrian sports, the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI), states that the welfare of the horse must be paramount and never subordinated to competitive or commercial influences.” However, there is often a conflict between the demands of competition, and the […]

2.3.2022 Sharing The Science: Investigation And Diagnosis of Lameness In Horses

By Sue Palmer on March 2, 2022

Pain Management In Horses Pain is an essential for survival. However, we know that sometimes we have to cause pain to horses, for example through surgery. And we know that there are various other ways in which horses end up in pain. What’s more difficult is how we recognise that pain, and how we manage […]

Study Supports Equestrianisms Social License To Compete

By Sue Palmer on February 26, 2022

Eventing placings related to how comfortable the horse is in his ridden work A study published yesterday found that horses with a lower score on the Ridden Horse Pain Ethogram were more likely to be placed in the top three at BE 90, BE 100, and BE Novice events. The most common score on the […]

25.2.2022: The Ridden Horse Pain Ethogram – Research and Development

By Sue Palmer on February 25, 2022

Lameness investigation should include ridden assessment Subjective Gait Assessment of 57 Sports Horses in Normal Work: A Comparison of the Response to Flexion Tests, Movement in Hand, on the Lunge, and Ridden Normally, if we’re looking to see if a horse is lame, we watch him in hand and on the lunge. Sometimes, however, lameness […]

22.2.2022 Sharing the Science: Equestrians’ Perceptions of Horse Happiness?

By Sue Palmer on February 22, 2022

Investigating Equestrians’ Perceptions of Horse Happiness: An Exploratory Study This study asked people, via a questionnaire distributed through social media, whether their horse was happy, and whether they felt that they could recognise happiness in their horse. The vast majority of respondents felt that they could recognise when their horse was happy (94%), and that […]

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