We can't ask our horses how they're feeling or where they hurt, we can't even see something that is obvious on our bodies like a bruise because of their skin colouration and coat.  Diagnosing whether a horse is sore, naughty or grumpy for some other reason can be difficult.  Even highly experienced veterinarians can find it difficult to pinpoint many injuries without extensive tests that basically eliminate potential areas until there is only one place left.

To find muscular pain, the massage therapist's hands must become their eyes.  During the initial phase of any therapy on the horse the masseur will palpate the entire body of the horse.  By running the hands over the muscles and then pushing and prodding the muscles in a variety of directions, the therapist can feel how the muscles react.  Are they hard and tight or do they roll smoothly under the hands? How does the horse react as you palpate and is the reaction consistent each time? What do the muscle fibres feel like are they taut like strands of rope or wire or are they smooth and plump, are there any lumps or bumps within the body of the muscle?  

This is a skill which can be learned through studying anatomy, physiology and massage technique.  It will be continuously improved by paying attention to each of the horses that are dealt with - individual horses will have different muscle tone according to their breed, natural musculature and fitness and by keeping tabs on the progress of horses treated, to verify how effectively the treatment provided relieved the problems presented. 

For most horse owners, however, there are some fairly simple tips to help you to understand whether your horse is sore or not.

Back Pain

Back pain is the number one cause of grumpiness and non-performance in horses.  Recent studies have shown that as many as 50% of horses may be suffering from some form of back soreness at any time.  However, just like us, how they react to that pain is up to the individual.  Some stoic types seem to be almost unaffected whereas others are severely limited by even minor soreness. 

A common mistake is to rapidly run the fingers down one or both sides of the spine.  When the horse dips away, this is diagnosed as back soreness.  On the contrary - this is a perfectly normal reaction and the opposite reaction, lifting and extending the back, can also be caused by running the fingers up the middle of the stomach in a similar way.  On the other hand if you run your fingers down either side of the spine and the horse doesn't react - this can be a problem.  It can be a sign that the horse is sufficiently sore that it is now unwilling to move it's back at all.

So can the horse owner do anything to check whether their horse is in pain or just grumpy? Yes! There are a number of fairly simple things that will give most owners a better idea of whether their horse is in pain or not.

• First, your horse should never flinch from the pressure of your flat palm. If it does this usually signifies serious bruising or muscle tear injuries.
• When you run your hand over your horse, do so at a medium to slow speed, in the direction of the hair.  Going too fast or against the grain of the horse's hair will tend to cause irritation which can be misread as pain.
• As you pass you hand over the horse, pay attention to the feeling under your hand - is the spot you are passing over warmer or colder than the surrounding area?  Heat may indicate inflammation, cold usually indicates lack of blood flow (common with muscles that are chronically in spasm or withering from injury)
• When you are grooming your horse, look for things like whether the muscles move and wobble nicely under your brush strokes.  If they seem solid and the horse is also making faces at you in this area then this could be a sign of problems.
• Stand your horse square.  Look from the back - are his hips and the top of his pelvis level? If not this may indicate a strain or injury to the sacro-iliac.
• If you are concerned about a certain area because your horse constantly makes faces at you when you go near it, check by approaching the area at least three times from different angles. If there is muscle soreness there you should get a reaction each time you hit the same spot rather than random grumpiness for being in the general area.
• If you apply a little pressure as you pass over the area - do you notice any other areas of skin jumping or twitching?
• Look for asymmetries.  Can the horse turn it's head with the same freedom to either side? Do the hind legs track behind the front feet or does one swing under the body, heading toward the opposite forefoot?  If you lift up the tail and look at the hind legs, are they evenly muscled? Even though it is natural for all beings to be a little asymmetrical, many such differences are signs of problems.

Although this is by no means a comprehensive list of diagnostics, these are some simple ways that you can start to become more attuned to your horse's physical well being.

 

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