Silent Pain Signs in the Horse

So many times in our rushed world we forget to look for the smallest signs of trouble.  We only become aware of them after they are “Monsters”.  Since I see a variety of horses every week I thought I would document some of the more common pain signs I see.

Pain is not usually the issue that the owners called me for. Mostly it is “He wont take a lead.” or “He is falling out of the circle” or “He’s knocking over the barrels”. Once I look at the horse I usually see many signs of pain.    So I put together this short list of the obvious ones.
I’m sure the list will grow as I get more/better pictures.

• Wither “Pockets” – Hollows behind the shoulders

This is where the muscles have atrophied from the horse trying to avoid a poorly fitted saddle.

• Hollow Flanks – Sides are concave behind the ribs.  Not from lack of food or being underweight.
• Butt  Muscles are angular not smoothly rounded

The red line shows how the butt muscles are over contracted creating the angle.  The Green line shows which muscles are the primary culprit in this situation.

• Inverted Topline or sway back are signs of saddle fit pain or improper use of the rear end.  This only applies to breeds without genetic markers for sway back (saddlebreds, etc.).

A horse in good condition with regular exercise and properly using their butt should have no more than a 3″ drop in the back and will frequently have less than 2″.

• Ewe Necked – is almost always present when sway back is present.

The red line is what is commonly presented as the being ewe necked.  The appearance is that the neck is set too low on the shoulder.  This is rarely true.  What normally happens is that the underside of the neck (green line) is over developed to the point that you may not even be able to see the carotid groove.

When the head goes up, the neck needs to flex at the shoulder and the back goes down.  Pesto-change-oh and you have a “ewe neck”.  Get the muscles of the back into proper work and most of the neck issues go away.

• Pursed Lips – The lips are held tightly together.  The teeth can be gritted together.  Look for the wrinkles on the lips – sour puss face.

The more wrinkles the higher the pain.  The deeper the wrinkles the longer the pain has been around.   These Lips look like he was sucking on sour grapes.

• Contracted Muscles – Hard muscle bands or spasms – Never relaxes all muscles

It is not just a sweat pattern in the area circled.  The muscles circled are actually in contraction.  He is not able to relax this area.

• Skin doesn’t slide across the muscles smoothly but is stuck in place.  This can be over bones or over other muscles.  This means that the fascia that the skin should slide over has stuck to the skin.  This prevents full extension/contraction of the muscles underneath the stuck fascia.

The Hyoid… How does it help your horse collect?

If you have watched any of the CSI type of shows, you have heard of the hyoid process and how it is damaged when a person is choked.  Very few people know how it relates to a horse’s ability to collect and relax.

In horses the hyoid is not a “single” bone (it’s not in people either, no matter what the shows imply), but  a combination of several small bones/joints that influence the horse’s head/neck.  The hyoid apparatus is a crucial part of the anatomy for responding to aids from the seat and leg. As a link in the “circle of aids,” it allows fine adjustments to be made in relaxed responses from tongue and jaw.

When horses are “through” and “on the bit/aids,” tension in the muscles connected to the tongue via the base of the hyoid is relieved by soft munching. This aids the readjustment of the neck vertebrae (reversal of the lower curve from convex toward the ground to concave) for the characteristic “arched neck”.

The hyoid is connected to the styloid process at the bottom of the brain case by ligaments. It connects the muscles and ligaments of the tongue, pharyngeal section of the windpipe and neck. Faults with the tongue are traceable to the intimate linkages in the hyoid system being overly tight.

When the horse is on the bit he should have sufficient room in his bridle (2 fingers minimum between the nose and the noseband/flash) to keep his jaw mobile in order to relieve muscle tension that build up when moving in collection or extension. Making adjustments in the hyoid by licking & chewing, horses may flick their tongues very briefly out the front of the mouth.

If a horse sticks its tongue out of the side of its mouth, over the bit or withdraws its tongue from the bit, it is a sign that bit, saddle, pressure from the seat combined with a fixed/hard hand or perhaps an injury is a problem.

Massage prior to a class is a perfect way to loosen up your horses head/neck/tongue.  This will enable him to collect better and be more relaxed.  This can directly influence their collection and extension.

Photos by Dr. Nancy Nicholson.