Chronic Pain Linked to Aggression in Horses

If your back hurts or you have painfully stiff and sore muscles, you’re more likely to be in a bad mood, and you might snap at people who annoy you. Horses react the same way, according to research recently conducted in France. Scientists studied 59 horses at three riding centers, recording the results of five standardized behavioral tests. Each horse was then assessed by an equine chiropractor to determine its degree of back pain based on stiffness and palpation of bony and soft tissues.

According to the study, almost three-fourths of the examined horses were severely affected by some type of vertebral problem. Of the affected horses, more than 75% showed negative reactions or aggression toward humans in one or more tests. Horses with more severe vertebral problems also showed fewer positive reactions toward humans than horses that were less severely affected.

Carole Fureix, Ph.D., an animal behavior scientist who led the study, suggested that what may be commonly seen as a training problem or simply bad behavior in a horse could have its roots in some type of chronic pain. The possibility of discomfort should be considered and the owner should have the horse thoroughly examined instead of immediately punishing the horse for the negative behavior.

Acute pain should also be suspected as a cause of negative or aggressive reactions, especially if such behavior is a sudden change from the horse’s normal pattern. The discomfort could be in any part of a horse’s body, not just in its back area.